


Discovery

by RivanWarrioress



Series: Rivan Warioress' Crossover Fics [1]
Category: Bones (TV), Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Adoption, Buffy crossover, Crossover, Family, Friendship, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Season 2 Buffy, Season 3 Bones, Season 3 Buffy, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-25 19:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 119,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3821530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RivanWarrioress/pseuds/RivanWarrioress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Willow discovers that she is adopted, she goes searching for her real parents. What she discovers will change her life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OR BONES (UNFORTUNATELY.) I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR A COMPUTER AND A WARPED IMAGINATION!!!

Willow felt her eyes well up in tears as she looked at the piece of paper in front of her. She didn’t notice the clouds of dust that floated gently in the air around her, or as the light that came in through the skylight slowly dimmed with the arrival of night, darkening the room around her.  
  
She sat in silence, tears rolling down her face as she looked at the official looking piece of paper, the same piece of paper that had taken her world, everything she had ever known, and turned it onto its head. She didn’t hear the knocking on the front door, which increasingly got louder and more panicked. She didn’t hear someone tapping on the glass of her balcony door, calling her name. She didn’t hear someone putting the spare key, which had been buried beneath a cross in the garden, into the lock, and opening the front door, nor the pounding of feet up the staircase, nor the sound of her balcony being opened to admit someone. She heard none of it.  
  
She didn’t hear the muffled voices coming from her bedroom, not the quiet voice saying that he could hear her upstairs, in the attic. She didn’t hear the feet quickly clambering up the ladder to the attic, her back turned to them. The first thing she knew when she felt the soft, familiar hand on her shoulder, and the quiet voice in her ear.  
  
“Wills, what’s wrong. Are you okay?”  
  
Willow didn’t speak, but she turned and flung herself into Xander’s arms, breaking into violent sobs.  
  
“Hey, Wills, what’s with the tears? Its okay, Xan-mans here. Did your yellow crayon break or something?”  
  
“It’s…all…been…a…lie” Willow gasped between sobs.  
  
“What’s been, Wills. What’s been a lie? Who lied?”

  
“I’m…” Willow began, dissolving into helpless tears again, before she picked up the piece of paper and passed it to Xander, before she buried her face into his jacket and cried. Xander frowned as he read down the page.

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry, Wills. Its okay.”

“What’s wrong, Xander?” Buffy quietly asked from the trapdoor that led to the attic. Cordelia and Angel were crouched beside her. The entire Scooby gang had raced to Willow’s house when she’d failed to turn up to the research meeting in the library that had been scheduled for that night. Willow hadn’t answered her phone, either, so they had left Giles behind to bring the car, and had run to Willow’s house.  
  
Xander glanced down at Willow in his arms, and she nodded slightly at his unasked question. Xander smiled briefly, before he reached back and handed the paper to the others, who clustered close together to read it. Angel hissed, having been the first to read it in its entirety.  
  
“Oh, Wills, I’m so sorry.” Buffy murmured.  
  
“Yeah, me too.” Cordy agreed.  
  
“Did you have any idea?” Buffy asked. Willow shook her head and Xander was frowning.  
  
“Why would they do this, they’re here how much every year? A week, maybe two, all together?”

  
“How long has that been going on for?” Angel quietly asked.  
  
“Since I was five. I used to have a nanny that came and stayed with me when I wasn’t at school, but she went home every night. By the time I was eight, my parents, well, the Rosenbergs, didn’t think I needed her anymore, so I was left alone,” Willow replied, her voice slightly muffled by Xander’s shoulder.  
  
“That’s horrible” Cordelia murmured, moving closer to Willow, and gently enveloped her and Xander in a hug. Buffy moved to Willow and Xander’s other side, and embraced them as well. Angel watched as the four teenagers huddled together, giving, and receiving comfort. He heard Giles’ car pull up in Willow’s driveway, and the telltale signs of the watcher hurrying into the house. He slowly descended the ladder to not alert the teenagers in the attic, before he hurried to the first floor landing.  
  
“Giles, they’re in the attic,” Angel spoke quietly.  
  
“Is Willow alright?” the Watcher asked worriedly.  
  
Angel nodded reassuringly, “She’s fine, physically at least.”  
  
Giles frowned, “What happened? Was she attacked?”  
  
“No, she just found something that shocked her,” explained Angel  
  
“What would shock her so much?”  
  
“Giles, she found a letter. She was adopted.”  
  
BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS  
  
Willow rested her head wearily on the arm of her couch. Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia were all sprawled out on inflatable mattresses on her lounge room floor, having decided that Willow shouldn’t have to be alone after finding out that the two people that she had regarded as her parents weren’t her parents at all.

The people that had neglected her and forgotten her for most of her life had no biological connection with her. She’d never been a accident, and they’d never had an obligation to looking after her. They volunteered to be her parents, and they’d abandoned her.  
  
It wasn’t fair.  
  
Not for the first time, Willow wondered what her real parents were like. Did she look like her mother, or her father? What about her personality? What did her parents do for a living? Were they married? Did she have any brothers or sisters? The questions were never-ending. She glanced at the phone that stood on a table beside her couch, and wished she could confront her parents, but it was too late to call them. They were in Montreal at the moment, and would be home in two weeks. Willow knew already that they would be the longest two weeks of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

Willow ran through the darkened streets of Sunnydale, fleeing everything she had ever known.

 

Her parents, no, the Rosenbergs, had finally come back from their lecture tour, and Willow had asked them about the letter. Her mother had confessed it, holding nothing back from Willow. Willow was adopted, and it had only because Shelia and Ira had both thought it would make them more credible in their respective fields of work if they had a child. Also, what better way to seem credible than to take in a child that otherwise be destined for eighteen years of hell in the foster system. Besides, what better way to put Shelia’s child rearing theory to practice than to raise a child using those guidelines herself.

 

Willow had actually snorted at that. She’d read all of her mother’s book, and her notes. Shelia had followed her own child rearing theories to a tee, and as a result, Willow had effectively raised herself from the age of six. Willow’s eyes had filled with tears at the words of the woman who she had admired and respected for as long as she could remember. It had been enough to cause her to snap, blurting out her own opinions of her mother’s parenting practices.  
  
“No, you’re wrong. I raised myself, I can’t even remember the last time either of you were home for longer than a month. I needed you when Jessie died, but you never came. You never cared about me, only your own careers. You just left me here at Sunnydale, while you went off and travelled the world, telling me to be good, and to go to school and do all my work, and do well. I did everything you ever asked me to, and I got no recognition, no praise. I’m top of my year in every subject, except P.E. I have been since Kindergarten. I have an average of an A plus in every subject I ever did, and you never cared. Not even a ‘well done Willow’ or a ‘Great job’ or even a, God forbid ‘We’re proud of you’”  
  
“Willow,” Ira had interrupted, his voice scolding; “Don’t use the Lord’s name in such a manner.”  
  
“I don’t care,” Willow sobbed, “Nothing I ever did was good enough for either of you. You never gave a damn, you never loved me for who I am, just what I meant for your precious jobs.”  
  
“Willow, stop it, you’re being unreasonable. I understand this is a traumatic time in your life, but you will understand more when you get older.” Shelia had said, her voice similar to one that she would use to speak to a child.   
  
“Don’t talk to me like that, I’m not a child anymore, I’m sixteen years old.” Willow had cried  
  
“No, you’re not, you’re only fifteen.”  
  
“My birthday was three weeks ago, that is, even if it is my real birthday. I don’t know what is real and what are lies anymore!” Willow sobbed, knowing that they’d forgotten. Xander and Buffy, and the rest of the Scoobies had remembered, even Cordelia.   
  
“Willow, calm down, you’re getting too upset” Shelia had ordered. Willow got to her feet angrily.  
  
“I don’t care anymore. Everything you’ve ever told me has been a lie. I hate you.”  
  
A stunned silence had filled the room after Willow’s outburst. Shelia had a cold, hard look in her eyes. She got to her feet, and Willow suddenly felt small, compared to the older woman. Willow gulped, and Shelia swung back her hand and slapped Willow across the face, closely followed by a couple of equally hard slaps.  
  
“Get…out…of…my…house…you…ungrateful…little…bitch.” Every word was punctuated with a hard slap which was, admittedly, less hard than ones Buffy had used during her nightly fights against vampires, were still incredibly hard on Willow’s soft skin. Willow had taken one last tearful look at Shelia’s face, before turning her back and fleeing the house, not bothering to get her coat or a cross, or even a stake.  
  
So she found herself running. Willow had never felt so shattered in her life. All along, she had only been a tool to further and enhance the careers of the ones who were supposed to love her.  
  
Blood seeped from the cut on her lip Shelia’s hard hands had given her, and her entire face was stinging. Willow knew she was going to come up with a spectacular black eye. How was he going to hide it from the others? No-one could ever know about what had happened at her house tonight. Buffy and Angel alone would probably go and do some serious damage, and that was after Xander would put some of his recently acquired military knowledge to good use and go after the Rosenberg couple. Willow paused at an intersection, chewing her bloodied lip worryingly, and making the wound worse. If she went one way, she would reach Buffy’s, and would be able to spend the night there, or if she went the other way, she could avoid her friends, until school the next day, and spend the night alone.   
  
Her decision made, Willow changed direction, and started running towards the woods, not noticing the dark figure trailing her, sniffing the air appreciatively.  
  
BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS  
  
Willow froze as she heard the stick crack beneath her follower’s foot, and cursed her stupidity. She should have gone to Buffy or Xander, or Giles, or even Cordelia or Angel, but instead, she had felt like going on a trip down memory lane, journeying into the woods to go and visit the fort that she and Xander had built in one of the trees. Technically, she had designed it, and Xander had done most of the hard work in constructing it, as Willow had found that she wasn’t very adapt to construction work.   
  
Now, though, she was certain she was being followed, and knowing Sunnydale, her follower probably wasn’t human. Willow groaned when she realized that she had been bleeding, and that naturally, vampires would be drawn to the scent. Willow glanced around. She knew that she wouldn’t make it to the fort, so she looked down and picked up a broken branch from the ground. She backed herself up against a tree, and peered out into the darkness, searching for the vampire, knowing that any of the spooky shadows that moved beneath the trees could be something that could kill her. She whimpered when she spotted the vampire. It was already in full vamp face, and Willow didn’t recognize who it was. She gulped.  
  
“Hello, my pretty, “the Vampire sneered, “What’s a sweet thing like you doing out here all by yourself?”  
  
“Just going for a walk” Willow nervously replied, holding her branch tightly. The vampire laughed.  
  
“Just a walk, my pretty? I’ll be sure to make sure it’s the last moonlit walk you’ll ever take” and with that, he lunged forward. Willow squealed and ducked down, raising her stick instinctively, squinting her eyes shut so she wouldn’t be able to see the yellow fangs descending down into her neck. She tensed, waiting for the pain of the fangs piercing her skin, but it never came. Willow frowned, puzzled, and opened her eyes. The vampire was leaning forwards, his eyes wide open and surprised as he regarded the stick embedded in his chest, before he exploded into dust. Willow released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, before she got shakily to her feet, and raced the rest of the way to the fort., a slight smiled on her face. She’d just killed her first vampire without having any help whatsoever. Despite her earlier distress, Willow felt very proud of herself.  
  
Willow and Xander’s fort was built into a large oak tree. The floor was nailed into the branches of the tree, and the rood was connected to the tree as well. Willow climbed up the ladder that Xander had hammered carefully into the tree trunk, testing each rung before she trusted her full weight on it. Eventually she reached the top of the ladder, and clambered into the fort itself. It was quite large, about three meters square. Willow smiled when she spotted her and Xander’s old sleeping bags neatly rolled in one corner, and the little table with the lantern Xander had ‘borrowed’ from his parents garage. Her eyes flicked to one of the walls, where, just after Jessie had died, Willow and Xander had come here, and Willow had written Jessie’s name, and his birth and death dates on one of the walls in permanent texta, as an eternal tribute to their fallen friend. Over the last summer, they had come here again, and Willow had written names on another wall, people who had helped in the fight against Vampires  
  
_Xander Harris  
  
Willow Rosenberg  
  
Buffy Summers  
  
Rupert Giles  
  
Angel_  
  
Willow considered the list; her head cocked to one side, before she picked up the old permanent texta from its space on top of the table, and pulled the lid off, before writing down another name.  
  
_Cordelia Chase_   
  
Xander would be happy with this sign of Willow’s acceptance of his and Cordy’s relationship. Cordelia had matured greatly since the summer, and the support the cheerleader had given Willow ever since the discovery of her true history had allowed Willow to begin to accept the brunette as a friend. They weren’t as close as, say, Willow and Buffy, but it was a start.  
  
Willow sniffed, and tears began leaking from her eyes and she put the texta away, unfurling her old, faithful sleeping bag and wriggling into it. She buried her face into the padding, and cried herself to sleep.  
  
BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS  
  
When Willow awoke, it was to sunshine shining though the window of the fort. Willow had made curtains for the fort, at some point, but they stayed open most of the time so that she and Xander could stargaze. She blearily opened her eyes, her head aching from her mother’s hits. Her lip was swollen, and Willow knew her face was covered in bruises. Willow groaned, and stretched out, glancing at her watch to check the time.  
  
Eleven o’clock.  
  
Damn, she was late for school. Her teachers were gonna flip. So were her parents.  
  
She didn’t have parents; Willow reminded herself scathingly as she sat up and wriggled out of her sleeping bag. She got up, stretching her back out. Next time she and Xander came to the fort, they were bringing mattresses in. She was too old to sleep on wood now, or so her back was telling her anyway.  
  
Willow rolled her sleeping bag back up, and put it back beside Xander’s. With a sigh, she walked towards the ladder, brushing her fingers along the piece of wood bearing Jessie’s name, as was tradition. She climbed down the ladder carefully, before, her head bowed, she began to walk to school. She walked past her house, sighing when she saw her parent’s car still parked in the driveway, but didn’t go in. She wasn’t ready to face them just yet. Once she reached Sunnydale high, she went to the bathroom, and studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked like crap. Her hair was messy and her lip was a mess. Both her cheeks were bruised, and the bruising was spreading towards her eyes, which were already shadowed from lack of sleep. She ran her fingers through her long hair, before she gave up completely, and walked to the library. She knew that she had spares scheduled at that point of time, so she knew that she had a little bit of time before she had to be ready for class.  
  
She pushed the library door open, and was surprised to see Xander, Buffy and Cordelia sitting at the library table, while an obviously worried Giles stood at the check out counter.  
  
“Wills” Xander yelled joyfully when he saw her come in, getting up and bolting across the room to embrace her. Willow returned the embrace gently.  
  
“I was so worried Wills, I thought you’d been made Vamp meat.” He muttered.  
  
“What happened last night?” Cordy asked.  
  
“Willow, you’re hurt. Come and sit down” Buffy said. Xander pulled away and examined Willow’s injuries. He took her gently by the shoulders and steered her towards the table, sitting her in the chair that he had been occupying.  
  
Giles had fetched the first aid kit and given it to Buffy, who had instantly gone into mother hen mode.  
  
“What happened. When you didn’t turn up for class this morning, we got Giles to ring your parents, I mean, the Rosenbergs, and they said that you’d run away, but that we shouldn’t worry, because you were suffering from ‘deep emotional trauma’, but that you’d get over it, and it was just you having a identity crisis and that you’d grow out of it. I mean hello, don’t they know what goes on in this town of a night?” Cordy offered by way of explanation.

 

Willow smiled in spite of herself, “I confronted them when they got home last night, like I said I would yesterday and there was a fight.”  
  
“Who did this to you, Wills?” Buffy softly asked. Willow blinked, and tears welled up in her eyes.  
  
“My Mom, I mean, Sheila. She slapped me, and she kept doing it, and I didn’t know how to make her stop it. Then she told me to get out, so I ran off and spent the night at the Fort.”

  
“Wills, oh god,” Xander pulled Willow into his arms, wrapping her in his embrace.   
  
“I’m sorry, Willow” Giles sadly said, patting the redhead on the shoulder comfortingly.  
  
“What’s the Fort?” Buffy asked.  
  
“Wills and I built it when we were kids, before we even met Jesse. It’s a big tree house that’s in the woods. We always used to sleep out there, and when we needed to get away from home, we went there. It was our sanctuary.”  
  
“In hindsight, it possibly wasn’t that much of a good idea to spend entire nights up there though, what with the things that go bump in the night.” Willow admitted.  
  
“How come you never mentioned it before?” Buffy asked, a hint of hurt in her voice.  
  
“The fort was ours, even Jesse didn’t go there very often, and now, well, we’re older, but when we need somewhere to hide, or to escape that’s where we go.”  
  
“It doesn’t seem like a safe place to escape to. I mean, a tree house is not going to save you from vampires.” Giles commented.  
  
“Er, Giles, I don’t think Xander meant escape from vampires and other creatures of the night. More like escape from drunken abusive parents, or completely absent parents in Willow’s case” Cordy dryly stated.  
  
“Cordy!” Xander gasped, “How do you know about that?”  
  
“Everyone knows about that, it was kind of obvious. I can’t even remember the last time I saw Willow with her parents, or mentioned that they were home, last night being the exception, and you, Xander, always used to come to school covered with bruises. How many times can one kid fall down the stairs, I mean, seriously, Xander, pick a decent excuse for once.”  
  
“Whoa whoa whoa. Did I miss something?” Buffy asked.  
  
“This was all before you came to Sunnydale, Buffy, don’t worry about it.” Willow informed her friend.  
  
“I never realized it was this bad” Giles sadly said, polishing his glasses once again.   
  
“Where are you going to go now, you can’t stay at your old house anymore?” Cordy asked. Willow shrugged and huddled a little closer to Xander, something the others noticed, but didn’t mention. Even Cordelia knew it was just because to Willow, Xander represented Safety and Security.   
  
“You can’t stay at my house; you would be safer on the streets, what with my dad and everything. I don’t want to think about what would happen if he got to you.”  
  
“I know Xand” Willow sadly said.  
  
“You could stay with mom and me, we have a spare room, and Mom thinks of you a as second daughter.” Buffy offered, smiling reassuringly.  
  
“Thanks, Buffy,” Willow managed a small smile as the slayer went back to cleaning Willow’s wounds and applying a soothing lotion to the bruises.  
  
They all jumped when the bell suddenly rang, and they got their books together. Willow walked beside Buffy as the Slayer slung her arm comfortingly over the petite redhead’s slim shoulders, while Xander and Cordelia followed them from the library, holding hands, and exchanging loving looks. Giles watched as they left, a deep sadness gathering in his gut.   
  
Willow was such a loving and kind person, she deserved to have a home and a family that loved and cared for her.  
  
It was time for the Scoobies to front up to the challenge.  
  
BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS  
  
That night, Willow sat in front of the computer in the library, surrounded by her friends. They were researching the latest big bad to come to Sunnydale, flicking through the many ancient books Giles had gotten out for them. Willow logged onto the internet, but hesitated before logging onto her favourite demonic database. Making a decision, she got onto Google, and typed in the name of the adoption agency that had, according to the letter she’d found, facilitated her adoption. She clicked on a promising looking site, and blinked as the agency’s website cam up on the screen, and she scrolled down, grinning when she spied a promising looking link. She scanned through the rest of the company’s home page with her eyes, before she returned to the link she had spotted.

 

It was titled ‘find my parents’ and Willow only hesitated for a second before she clicked on it, her resolve face firmly in place. She felt as though everything she’d ever been told by the people she’d been raised to believe were her parents had been a lie. Willow was confused about everything. Who she was, what was her identity? Did she look like her mother, or her father? Did she act like them? Did she have siblings? Where were her parents now? She yearned for the answers to these questions, and the many millions more she had bouncing around in her head, and this was the only way she could think of to go about getting them.  
  
The link had brought up a form that she could fill in online and email back to the agency. At the top of the form, though, there was a note. Willow smiled as she read it.  
  
_‘Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the identity of biological parents to persons aged fifteen years or younger. This is because of federal law, and we have no control over it'_   
  
Willow was glad that she’d had her birthday already as she looked over the form and began to type in her details.  
  
Childs Given Names: Willow Danielle  
  
Childs Surname: Rosenberg  
  
Date of Birth: 7/10/1991  
  
Place of Birth (If known):  
  
Adopted Mother’s Name: Sheila Rosenberg   
  
Adopted Father’s Name: Ira Roseneberg  
  
Town of residence at time of adoption: Sunnydale, CA, USA  
  
The questions continued down the page, and Willow filled as many of the questions as she could, before hitting the send button at the bottom of the form. She leant back in her chair and closed her eyes, praying that her real parents could be found.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. Ok, first off, I know that Willow would not have been born in 1991 (considering she was 18 when she graduated in 1999, according to Buffyverse) but I had to change the dates around to fit in with Bones. This story is set in early November 2007, and we’ll just go with it being just after the Halloween in Season two of Buffy. I’m aiming for it to be tying in with season three of Bones. Another thing. I know that in America, Adoption Agencies cannot just give out the names of biological parents to Adopted children, but for the sake of the story, we’ll just ignore that little detail. Who said Fan fiction needed to be true to real life?


	3. Chapter 3

  
Two days after Willow sent the email to the adoption agency; Ira and Shelia Rosenberg left Sunnydale once again, this time for a lecture tour of South America, followed by a holiday in Europe. Willow remembered from the itinerary she’d been given before the confrontation that they were not due back in Sunnydale until the New Year. Willow was glad when Xander reported her parent’s car was once again missing from the driveway of her house, as she’d been living in clothes that Buffy and Cordelia had been lending to her, and they weren’t particularly to her taste, although the appreciative wolf whistles she had been getting from some of the boys at school had been nice for a change…if a little unnerving.  
  
The afternoon after Xander discovered that the car was gone, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordelia went to the Rosenberg house. Xander was glancing around, enjoying having an opportunity to practice and hone in on his new found ‘solder boy’ persona, much to the amusement of his companions.  
  
“Xander, you do know that technically it’s not breaking and entering because I live here and I’m inviting you inside? Hell, you have your own key.” Willow commented, smiling fully for the first time in days.  
  
Xander pouted, as Cordelia and Buffy dissolved into giggles.  
  
“Right, lets all make fun of the Xand-man,” Xander frowned as Willow pulled her keys from her school bag and slid them into the front door. She turned the key, and the lock clicked. Willow grinned.  
  
“At least they didn’t change the locks on the door, Wills” Xander comforted reassuringly as Willow opened the door and stepped over the threshold. He followed his best friend, and the others followed them into the deserted house.  
  
Xander had never really liked Willow’s house, as it had always given him a wiggins. It was sparsely decorated house with very few photos on display. It was not very welcoming, and it felt cold and hard, and Xander hadn’t liked it, despite his own home being less than welcoming.  
  
The Scooby gang spread out, giving Willow some space, but at the same time staying close to her if they were needed. Willow walked into the kitchen and frowned, having spotted the large envelope left inconspicuously on the bench. She opened it cautiously (it was the hellmouth after all) and pulled out several pieces of paper. The top piece of paper was a hand written letter, and Willow instantly recognized her father’s handwriting.  
  
_‘Dearest Willow’ the letter read, ‘I hope that this letter finds you well and safe. I am truly sorry for the way your mother and I treated you the night you asked us about your heritage. It was inexcusable and we can only beg for your forgiveness, and the forgiveness of the Lord.  
  
Even though you may not be ours by blood, Willow, Shelia and I still love you very much. I know that we are often not there, but this is because we trust you. You have grown into such a wonderful young woman, and we are both so proud of you.  
  
We hope to see you again in the New Year.  
  
Your loving Parents  
  
Ira and Shelia Rosenberg.  
  
P.S. Money will continue to be deposited into your bank account on a weekly basis, and you know where the emergency credit card is._  
  
Willow frowned and shuffled the letter to the back of the papers that were within the envelope. When she saw what it was, her jaw dropped, and her eyes welled up in tears. Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia were at her side in a moment.  
  
“What’s wrong Wills?” Buffy asked worriedly.  
  
“It, it’s from the hospital I was born at. Charleston Area Medical Center’s Women’s and Children's Hospital. It’s in West Virginia…Wow, that’s a long way away.”  
  
“That means you’re not a Californian, which does kind of explain some things, because you were never really interested in things Californian girls are into.” Cordy said calmly. Buffy and Xander glared at her, though Willow chuckled, getting what Cordy was trying to say.  
  
‘Cordy, I have fair skin and red hair; of course I’m not going to be into tanning.”  
  
“Hey, maybe that’s a common thing up there, you never know.” Xander offered.  
  
“Hey, Wills, let me put it this way, at least you weren’t born on the hellmouth. I always knew you were too sweet, innocent and nice to have been born here in Sunnydale.” Buffy consoled. Willow smiled tearfully.  
  
“Aw, thank you Buffy.” Willow hugged the slayer warmly.  
  
“So, You were born in West Virginia, does it say anything about your mother?”  
  
“No, but I don’t think they would give out the mother’s details.” Willow said as she flicked to the next piece of paper. This one was a copy of the adoption papers. She scanned the paper with her eyes, looking for any new information. The others clustered around her, looking over her shoulder.  
  
“She wasn’t married” Willow murmured, pointing out a line on the form. It read ‘Reason for adoption: Unwed mother.’  
  
“She could have been our age, or younger.” Buffy murmured.  
  
“She would have been so scared, especially if my dad had left, and her parents didn’t approve.” Willow whispered her eyes wide in horror. Xander held her closely, comforting her, while Cordy reread the information on the page.  
  
“She might not have been really young, just not married yet,” Cordelia offered comfortingly.  
  
“Oh my God, I’m a bastard,” Willow murmured, her voice shocked.  
  
“It doesn’t mean anything, Willow. It doesn’t matter,” Xander stated firmly.  
  
“Thanks Xand.”  
  
Together, they looked through the rest of the papers, but learnt nothing new about Willow, or her parents. Willow put everything back into the envelope, and put it in her schoolbag, before she went upstairs and got enough clothes to last her the rest of the week, having decided that she didn’t particularly want to stay by herself. Once she had everything she needed loaded into a duffel bag, Willow shepherded the others out, before locking the house up again, and walking back towards Buffy’s house with her friends.  
  
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A week later, Willow walked the streets of Sunnydale alone, soaking in the sunshine. Buffy had a post school training session with Giles, and Xander and Cordelia were doing couple-ish things that Willow didn’t want to think about. It was a nice day, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, and it was almost unseasonably warm, so she didn’t want to go and see Angel, who was probably asleep anyway.  
  
The course Willow was walking would take her past her house, and she decided that she should check the mail and water Shelia’s beloved potted plants. Willow walked up the familiar front path up to her front porch and pulled her keys from her bag. She unlocked the door and stepped over the threshold, noticing the pile of mail that was waiting for her upon the doormat. She closed the door behind her, before crouching to the ground and scooping up the mail. She carried it into the kitchen, and dumped it on the bench, dropping her school bag on the floor before picking up the watering can from the pantry and filling it with water from the tap. She walked around the house, watering all the pot plants, before she returned to the kitchen, putting the watering can away. She approached the stack of mail and flicked through it.  
  
Bill,  
  
Bill,  
  
Junk,  
  
Bill,  
  
Letter from the adoption agency,  
  
Junk,  
  
Bill,  
  
Willow froze and backtracked to the letter from the adoption agency. They’d actually responded. Willow gulped nervously, holding the letter loosely in her hand. She had the answer to her real heritage in her hand, and suddenly she was scared. She wished that everything was back the way it was, when parents were parents, and she was blissfully unaware that the main reason that she lived in Sunnydale was because her parents thought she would add credibility to their own careers.  
  
Willow grabbed her bag and the rest of the mail, bolting out of the front door and locking it, before she ran back towards the school.  
  
She needed to be in a homely environment when she opened the letter, and the Sunnydale high school library was, for Willow, as homely as she could get.  
  
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Giles tiredly wiped sweat from his brow as he watched Buffy bounce around the library. They had just had an extensive training session, and the Watcher was thoroughly exhausted. Nothing at the Watcher’s Academy could ever prepare you for what training a slayer was like physically.  
  
Giles jumped violently when the library doors burst open, and Willow ran into the room, her pale face flushed, and her breathing haggard. Obviously she had just run a long way.  
  
“Willow, what’s wrong?” Buffy asked, stopping her bouncing. Both Slayer and Watcher approached the young hacker.  
  
“Is it your parents, I mean, the Rosenbergs?” Giles asked. Willow shook her head quickly.  
  
“I went to check the mail, and water the pot plants, and the adoption agency has written back” Willow softly explained.  
  
“And?” Buffy said.  
  
“I can’t open it, Buffy, I’m scared.”  
  
“Oh, Wills, It’ll be okay. Me and Giles are here, and Xander and Cordy will be here later on for research stuff. You’re not alone.”  
  
“Whatever that letter says, Willow, we will support you in exactly the same way that we always have,” Giles added. Buffy nodded in agreement.  
  
‘Giles is right; it’s not going to change a thing. You’re still going to be our Willow.”  
  
“Thanks Buffy, thanks Giles,” Willow said, before she dropped into one of the library chairs. Buffy and Giles sat on either side of her. Willow exhaled, before she slid her thumb under the seal of the envelope and began to open it. Once the envelope had been opened, Willow briefly hesitated, before she took the figurative plunge, holding her breath as she pulled the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. She read the letter out loud, her voice unsteady with nerves.  
  
_“Dear Miss Rosenberg,_  
  
_I write in response to your application to be told the identity of your birth parents, and am pleased to inform you that on behalf of this adoption agency, I am able to give you their names. Unfortunately, however, due to law, we cannot give you their locations at the time of your birth, and their current whereabouts is not recorded in our database, or any other information apart from their occupation at the time of your birth, their age at that time, and their names. Please bear in mind, if you choose to seek out your birth parents that their name might have changed through marriage or some other circumstance._  
  
_According to our records, your biological mother’s name is Carmen Stuart. She was unemployed, and was nineteen years old_  
  
_According to our records, your biological father’s name is Seeley Booth. He was an enlisted solider, and was nineteen years of age._  
  
_I hope this information is helpful, and that you find the answers you are seeking._  
  
_Yours Sincerely,_  
  
_Luke Jones, Research Department."_


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Xander and Cordelia arrived at the library, not far behind Angel, Willow was on the computer, searching through records as she tried to find her birth parents. Buffy and Giles sat on the other side of the desk, researching demons and prophesies respectively.   
  
“So, what are we looking up tonight, G-man?” Xander asked, flopping into a chair, while Cordy daintily sat in his lap.  
  
“Nothing in particular, Xander. Just keeping track of prophesies and potential demon threats, and don’t call me by that horrid name.”  
  
“Sure thing,” Xander absent mindedly said, before turning to face Willow, “How are you this fine evening Wills?”  
  
“Great, I got a reply back from the adoption agency. I have parents.” Willow excitedly handed the piece of paper to Xander for him and Cordy to read. They read it together, before they passed it to Angel for him to read.  
  
“Willow, this is great. You have names, ages, and what they worked as, or at least, what your dad worked as. You have an idea on where to look.” Cordy said, tapping into Willow’s enthusiasm. Xander had a big grin on his face.  
  
“Your dad was a soldier boy; there might be something on him on the military database.”  
  
“What military database?” Giles asked, puzzled.  
  
“The one that I remember the passwords for from when I was soldier boy at Halloween.  
  
“Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that.”  
  
“I’ll get on that once I’m done here. It’s a missing people database.”  
  
“Why are you looking at a missing people database?”  
  
Willow paused, before shrugging, “I’ve just got a gut feeling, and my gut feelings usually turn out to be accurate.”  
  
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“Oh my God,” Willow murmured to herself as she stared at the computer screen. She was in her room at Buffy’s house, lying on her bed, her laptop opened up in front of her. It was in the early hours of the morning, and she hadn’t been able to sleep, so she had got out her computer and continued her search for her parents. She was still trawling though the missing person’s records, following what her gut was telling her, her instinct, as she liked to call it.   
  
And it had paid off. She had found a missing person report for her mother, dated about five months before Willow had been born. Willow felt a pang of pity in her chest when she realized that her mother had probably run away from home when she’d discovered she was pregnant with Willow. There was a photo attached to the document, and Willow smiled when she saw her mother’s face. Willow looked almost exactly like her mother, with a few subtle differences. Willow scanned through the information the database gave.

 

Carmen Stuart had grown up in suburban Philadelphia. She’d been a straight A student, and had been class valedictorian when she’d graduated from high school. She’d gone to college, and was majoring in literature, but had vanished during her first year. Foul play had been suspected, but no-one had been arrested, and there wasn’t enough evidence, so the case had gone cold.   
  
Willow noticed an attachment and clicked on it. Her eyes filled with tears as she read. It was an autopsy report as well as a coroners report. Six years after Willow had been born, a set of human remains had been found in an old cave not far out of Charleston, where Willow had been born. They were what was left of Willow’s birth mother. Time of death had been estimated at between six and twelve months after Willow’s birth, and cause of death had been recorded as a suicide.  
  
Carmen Stuart had killed herself just over six months after having and giving up Willow. Willow sobbed and tears welled in her eyes before rolling down her cheeks for the mother Willow had never known. Willow buried her head into her pillow as she cried. A few minutes later, she heard the bedroom door open, and Buffy came in, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. She passed one to Willow, before closing Willow’s bedroom door.  
  
“Buffy, did I wake you?” Willow quietly asked. Buffy smiled.  
  
“Yeah, slayer hearing never really turns off. It’s okay though, you need a friend, and I’m right here. What’s wrong?”  
  
“My, my mom. She’s, she’s dead. Willow started crying again and buried her head into Buffy’s shoulder. Buffy rubbed Willow’s back reassuringly as she read the reports.   
  
“Aw, God Wills, I’m so sorry.” Buffy said consolingly.  
  
“You couldn’t have done anything, it isn’t your fault.”  
  
“It’s not yours either. Willow, you were, what, six months old when she died.”  
  
“If she hadn’t got pregnant with me, she’d still be at home; she wouldn’t have dropped out and run off.”

  
“Willow, it isn’t your fault. No-one blames you.”  
  
“My dad might. Maybe he loved her so much, but then he had to go away to war, and then when he comes back, she would already be gone. I wrecked his life as well.”  
  
“Willow, snap out of it, okay. Your mom loved you, I know she did, and I bet your dad does too, wherever he is. Did you find anything on him?”  
  
“No, I’ve been focusing on my mom.”  
  
“Do you want some help?”  
  
“No, I think I’m done. The hot chocolate is making me tired.”  
  
“At least we know who you look like now, huh Wills. You look just like your mom. She was so pretty.”  
  
“I guess. Thank-you Buffy,” Willow smiled sheepishly at the blonde slayer.   
  
“No problem, Wills. I’m your friend, what are friends for?”  
  
Willow put her computer away and snuggled beneath the covers.  
  
“Goodnight Wills,” Buffy murmured. Willow nodded and switched off the light as Buffy left the room carrying the now empty mugs. She carried them back to the kitchen and put them in the sink, before moving back up to her own bed and going back to bed.  
  
Even slayers needed their beauty sleep.   
  
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The next day at school, Willow found it near impossible to concentrate on her lessons, attracting several slightly concerned but still aloof glances from her teachers. Only Jenny Calender had any idea what was making her star pupil so distracted. Giles had told her about Willow’s discovery that she wasn’t her parent’s real daughter weeks ago, and she knew Willow’s highly distracted state was somehow connected. As the class drew to a close, Jenny glanced at Willow.  
  
“Willow, could I please have a word with you after class?”  
  
“Sure,” Willow sighed, knowing that she hadn’t been paying attention. As the rest of the class packed up their books, shooting curious glances at the usually attentive redhead, Willow prepared herself for the scolding she was about to receive. As much as she knew Ms. Calender outside of a classroom, she knew that her inattentiveness that day in class had been inexcusable.  
  
Once the classroom had emptied of the other students, Jenny Calender got up and crossed the room to the door, pushing it closed, before she turned to face Willow. She walked back to her desk and leaned casually against it.  
  
“Willow, you haven’t been yourself today, is anything wrong?”  
  
“I just didn’t sleep well last night,” Willow said, swallowing nervously. She didn’t really want to say her reasons for her distress, saying it out loud would just make it more real, so she simply lied. The only flaw in her plan was the fact that she was a hopeless liar.  
  
“Willow, you can trust me, I know what your Scooby Gang is facing at the moment, Rupert has been keeping me informed.”  
  
“Has he been keeping you informed with what’s happening with me personally?” Willow quietly asked.  
  
“He did mention you were going through a hard time at the moment. Willow, if you need to talk, I’m happy to listen, no matter how petty is seems.”  
  
“I’m adopted; my parents only adopted me to better their own careers, they don’t care about me, and I found out last night that my biological mother committed suicide not long after I was born. My dad was a nineteen year old soldier, and I don’t know how to find him, and he probably doesn’t want me now anyway. He’s probably got a wife and kids that he loves. He’s not going to want the daughter he fathered just out of high school.” Willow burst into tears, and Jenny was immediately was at her side, rubbing her back soothingly. Willow buried her head into Jenny’s shoulder and cried, feeling her tears soaking into her teacher’s shirt.  
  
“Shh, Willow, I’m sure you father will love you. He might not even know of your existence. What’s his name?”  
  
“Seeley. Seeley Booth.” Willow managed to say between her sobs.   
  
“Do you know where he lives?”  
  
Willow shook her head, and Jenny rubbed her back soothingly.  
  
“He was a soldier, the army keeps record of where all past solders live, he’ll be easy to find, I’m sure.”  
  
“What if he’s dead too? What if he didn’t make it back and that’s why my mom killed herself and gave me up.”  
  
“If he is dead, Willow, you have all the family you’ll ever need right here in Sunnydale. Xander, Buffy, Rupert, Cordelia, Angel, and Me. We’re family, even if we’re not related by blood. Blood doesn’t matter.”  
  
Willow looked up at Jenny’s face, and the teacher smiled reassuringly. Willow smiled weakly back at her.   
  
“Thank-you Miss Calender.” Willow said, picking up her books.  
  
“It’s my pleasure, Willow. It really is.”


	5. Chapter 5

Lunchtime at Sunnydale high found the Scooby Gang, including Jenny, and excluding Angel, in the school library, clustered around Willow. Willow had pulled up the missing person’s report for her mother, and the attached report for her death so the others could take a look. Buffy and Cordelia both had tears in their eyes as they read, and Xander was unusually quiet. Giles had taken his glasses off and was polishing them. Jenny hand a comforting hand on Willow’s shoulder.  
  
Once they had finished reading, Buffy, Xander, and much to Willow’s surprise, Cordelia pulled her into a group hug. Giles and Jenny watched as the three older teens comforted the slightly younger one, offering support and reassurance to their distressed friend. The four of them, worlds apart in some ways, and yet so alike in others. A Slayer, a hacker, a cheerleader, and a class clown, bound and united together by the Hellmouth, and their own unique friendship.  
  
Willow was the first to pull out of the hug, her eyes moist with tears, “Thanks guys” she whispered, “it means a lot to me. Hopefully my dad’s going to be in a more alive state than my mom.” Willow let a small smile cross her face  
  
“That’s the spirit, Wills,” Xander grinned supportively. Willow nodded, and turned back to her computer, getting out of the missing persons site, and following Xander’s instructions to getting into the military database.  
  
By the time lunchtime was over, Willow had only just got into the site. She had a spare, thankfully, and so did Xander. Buffy and Cordelia went off to class together, as did Jenny, who had to teach, leaving Giles and the two teens in the library. Giles went into his office to do some research, not that it was needed, but it gave him something to do while the teenagers were using that god fangled machine.  
  
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Willow and Xander sat side by side in front of the computer as they searched for Seeley Booth. They had to go to class soon, and Xander was getting annoyed. It was slow work. Willow was getting anxious, fears and doubts chasing one another through her head. With a sigh, she pushed the keyboard away from her and leaned forward on the desk.  
  
“Wills, what’s wrong?”

 

“He probably has a perfectly fine life without me, Xander. He’s probably married, with kids. He’s not going to want me. Like I said this morning to Ms. Calender, he isn’t going to want the child he fathered just out of high school. I could wreck his life by contacting him. What if he never got over my mom leaving, and blames me for her death. What if he’s dead too? I don’t know how I could go knowing that both my biological parents are dead. Maybe we shouldn’t do this. I know his name…that should be enough,” Willow babbled, getting more and more distressed with every word she spoke.

 

Xander hushed her soothingly, “Shhh, Willow, It’s going to be okay. You dad is going to love you, and if he has kids then they’re going to love their really cool big sister as well, alright. He was nineteen when you were born, Willow. I kind of doubt that he was already married at that point of time, so it’s not like your parents were having an affair. You aren’t going to wreck his life. It’ll be okay, Willow. Even if he is dead, you’ve got Giles, and Buffy’s mom, and Ms. Calender. They all treat you like you’re their daughter anyway. And you have us, me, Buffy, Cordy and Dead boy. We all love you too, Willow, well, in the non boy-girl sense… You know what I mean.”  
  
Willow giggled at Xander’s awkwardness, “Thank-you Xander.” She softly whispered as Xander pulled her into a hug. The bell rang in the background, and Giles came out of the office to see them off to their next class. They both picked up their bags and books, and hurried out.  
  
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After school, Willow and the rest of the Scooby gang met in the library once again. Willow and Xander continued on where they had left off on the computer’s military database, while Buffy, Giles and Cordy researched. Ms. Calender came in once she had finished cleaning up her classroom so she could help, and spend some time with Giles.   
  
Willow sat up in her chair, focused intently on her search as she flicked through the long list of names. The problem was that they didn’t know what unit or battalion Seeley Booth had been in, only his name, and the year. Giles had suggested that possibly that Willow’s father hadn’t been a solider at all, and that her mother hadn’t known what he was, or had lied. Xander and Buffy had shot him glares at his tactlessness. Even Cordy was shocked he’d said such a thing, and she was the Queen of Bluntness.   
  
Willow ignored the comment, following her gut instinct once again, since it had proved so accurate with her search for her mother. Xander stuck beside her, offering insight and suggestions that he remembered from his short one night stint in the army on Halloween.   
  
Xander was watching Cordy as she read one of the heavy tomes when Willow let out an excited squeal beside him.  
  
“I found him, I found him. Kind of, sort of.” Willow’s excitement faded as the rest of the group joined her.  
  
“What’s with all the gaps in the information?” Cordy asked as she studied the page. Willow shrugged, and everyone looked at Xander.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Hello, you’re army guy, you know all this.” Cordy reminded her boyfriend.  
  
“Oh yeah, it’s because he’s joined another agency after being in the army, and that agency requires his past information to be confidential.” Xander said.  
  
“Another agency? Like what?” Buffy was confused.  
  
“CIA?” Offered Xander  


“FBI?” Willow suggested  
  
“MI6?” Giles added. The teenagers rolled their eyes.  
  
“This isn’t Britain Giles.” Buffy reminded her watcher.  
  
“So, what do we know about Mr. Booth?” Ms. Calender asked, interrupting an argument before it could start.  
  
“He enlisted early on in 1991, and was shipped out to places unknown by May 1991. He was a member of the Army Rangers. He came back to the states in 1999. That’s all it really says. His pictures even blurred.”  


“That’s alright, Willow, the resemblance you bare to your mother is quite remarkable.” Giles said, polishing his glasses.  
  
“Thanks Giles.” Willow smiled.  
  
“That’s quite alright, Willow. Now, we need to have a think about what organization Mr. Booth joined upon returning home.”  
  
“I don’t know.” Xander admitted, his military knowledge exhausted. He was back to being food run boy.  
  
“I’ve been following my guts a lot on this one, and I think FBI. I could be wrong though.” Willow commented. Giles and Buffy shrugged.  
  
“FBI sounds good to me.” Buffy said. Willow nodded and opened up her laptop, where she preferred to do her hacking off when she was doing slightly more illegal things, to avoid being traced. She’d designed and installed so many anti tracing programs on her laptop that it was highly unlikely that she would get traced while hacking.  
  
She got onto the net and began the familiar process of hacking into the FBI’s database, just like she had many times before. Giles closed his eyes.  
  
“I’m pretending I’m not seeing this. This is definitely illegal. I disapprove of hacking immensely, and do not condone it. There, I’ve tried to talk you out of it. Continue on, Willow”  
  
The teenagers all laughed and even Ms Calender giggled “Very funny Rupert, I see you’ve been corrupted.”  
  
“Jenny, I was corrupted long before any of them,” he pointed at the teenagers, “were even in school. I do believe they just bring out my inner rebel.”  
  
“I’m in” Willow stated, interrupting the two adults, “Shouldn’t take too long to find him, the FBI database is really good for finding people.”  
  
“Go for it, Wills” Buffy encouraged.   
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
By the time Angel arrived in the library, greeted by Buffy with a passionate kiss; Willow was very close to finding her father. The group was huddled together around her, and the tension in the air was thick. Cordy clasped Xander’s hand in hers tightly, and Angel wrapped his arm around Buffy’s slender shoulders, holding her close. Giles and Jenny hid their joined hands from the group, although the entire group knew about their budding relationship anyway. Willow clicked and typed her way through the database, letting a wide smile spread across her face as she drew closer and closer to finding her biological father.  
  
Finally, she lets out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as the page loads. There was his name. Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI. They all looked over the page.  
  
“Wow, Wills, check out Captain America.” Xander laughed. Buffy, Cordelia and Willow all laughed.  
  
“Wow, he works homicide cases, kind of like we do here.” Cordelia commented.  
  
“That explains why you’re so good at the investigation-y stuff, Will. You get it from your dad.” Buffy added. Willow nodded.  
  
“According to this, he is posted in Washington D.C.” Giles took off his glasses and polished them.  
  
“That’s such a long way away,” Willow softly said.  
  
“Oh My God, it says here that he works with Forensic Anthropologist Temperance Brennan.” Cordy gasped.  
  
“You mean, THE Temperance Brennan?” Willow’s jaw dropped as Cordy nodded.  
  
“Wow” Willow gasped.  
  
“Who is Temperance Brennan?” Giles stage whispered to Angel and Jenny. Angel shrugged blankly. Jenny rolled her eyes.   
  
“She’s an author, she writes crime books that are based on her real work as a Forensic Anthropologist.” She explained to the two men.   
  
“Gosh, Giles, she’s an author, you know, of books. I would’ve thought that you’d know all about her.” Buffy lightly teased her Watcher.  
  
“Yes, well, Crime novels about Forensic Anthropology are not exactly required reading at the Watcher’s Council.” Giles said. Everyone else laughed, except Willow, who was absorbed in the page.  
  
“Hey Dad,” she softly said.


	6. Chapter 6

That night, Willow lay on her bed in the guest bedroom of Buffy’s house, gazing thoughtfully out the window at the stars.  
  
“Are you alright, Willow?” Joyce asked from the doorway, holding two mugs in her hands.

 

Willow jumped, having not noticed Buffy’s mother, “Yeah, I’m okay.”  
  
“Buffy told me about your mother. I’m sorry.”  
  
“It’s okay, it’s not like I knew her. It’s more my dad that I’m worried about.”  
  
“Your dad?” Joyce walked into the room and handed Willow one of the mugs. Willow inhaled and smiled as the delicious scent of Joyce’s hot chocolate wafted up at her from the mug.  
  
“Yeah, he’s an FBI agent in Washington DC. He works homicide cases with Temperance Brennan, you know, the author.”  
  
“Oh, that’s quite exciting. I have one of her books, it’s very good.”  
  
“Yeah, it is. The thing is, I don’t know how I should go about contacting him, or even if I should. I mean, he was only eighteen, he was about to go to war. It’s been a long time. And did I mention that I found a photo of him on the FBI database, and he looks a lot like Angel. None of the others know about that yet, they are going to be so freaked out. I mean, my Dad looking like a slightly older version of Angel, even though that’s kind of impossible, but you know what I mean, that’s just weird, even by Hellmouth standards.”  
  
“Willow, I think you should do whatever it is your heart tells you to do. Stop thinking, and just let your heart guide you,” counseled Joyce, “And in regards to your father resembling Angel, well, maybe he’s a distant descendant or something? Angel did live a long time ago; It’s highly possible that he has relatives all over the world. Just think, if your father and Angel are related, it means you’ve had a blood relative in Sunnydale this whole time.”  
  
“But I always think. I never let my heart guide me.” Willow said in a small voice.  
  
“Maybe it’s time for a change.” Joyce said with a smile. Willow hesitated, before nodding nervously.  
  
“Okay. I’m going to contact him; I just don’t know how I’m going to do it.” Willow said, her resolve face falling into place, before she let it drop for a moment.  
  
“Xander isn’t going to take it well, he doesn’t like Angel. If he starts calling me Brood Girl or something, I’m going to hit him.”  
  
“Why does Xander not like Angel anyway?”  
  
“He’s jealous that Angel has Buffy. Or, at least, it used to be that, but now it’s more of just because Xander can’t let go of the way he used to feel about Angel. I don’t get it, I mean, Angel’s always been nice to us.”  
  
Joyce nodded understandingly, “One thing I know, Willow, is that trying to understand the mind of a male is both tiring, and ultimately, an impossible task. I’ve had many years of practice, and I still can’t do it. Maybe Xander will surprise you.”  
  
“I guess so” Willow admitted.   
  
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Willow stared nervously at the computer screen, drumming her fingers nervously on the computer desk in front of her. It was a typical Friday night, and the Scooby gang was in the library researching, or rather, Giles, Cordy, and Xander were researching, while Buffy and Angel were out patrolling. Xander and Cordelia had arranged to meet them at the Bronze once Patrol was over.   
  
Willow and Jenny were the only ones in the library that were not researching. Willow had decided that she would email her father, using the contact email address she could get off his FBI file, and Jenny would be providing moral support for her.  
  
Willow had chosen email for four simple reasons. Firstly, she knew that if she was on the phone she would be highly nervous, and babble uncontrollably, and would be impossible for her dad to understand. Secondly, she could have a plan of what she was going to say and stick to it with a email, which would prevent babbling, thirdly, his email address was on his file, and his phone number was not, and fourthly, Willow was sure that the news she was set to give him would probably be a huge shock, and he might need time to process the information. To stop Willow having to repeat herself, which would probably promote further babbling, an email would be easier because it could be reread, printed out, reread again, and referenced.  
  
Willow exhaled nervously and began to type into the empty new message box she had brought up. She had decided that she would link it up to her private email, the one she used for non hell mouth related activities and messages. She knew that the FBI would be able to track the email down to the Sunnydale high school library computer, which would most probably lead them right to her.  
  
Jenny patted her shoulder reassuringly as Willow read the email off the scrap of paper she had written it down on.  
  
“s dot booth at sign Hoover dot FBI dot us dot gov.” As she read it, Willow typed it into the addressee box. Then she clicked n the subject box.  
  
“Um, what should I put here?” she asked out loud.  
  
“Something that will get his attention,” Jenny advised. Willow nodded and typed.  
  
IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ  
  
“That will do nicely.” Jenny smiled. Willow nodded and clocked onto the main message box. She let out a breath that she hadn’t realized that she was holding, before beginning to type.  
  
_Dear Mr. Booth,_  
  
My name is Willow Rosenberg. I am sixteen years old. I live in Sunnydale, California, and I am in my Junior Year of High school at Sunnydale High.   
  
I recently found out I was adopted when I found my adoption papers up in our attic when I was cleaning up. I wrote to the adoption company that my adoption was done through, and they gave me the name of my mother and of my possible father as well. My mother’s name was Carmen Stuart, and the name that she put on my Birth certificate, and on the adoption papers as my biological father, was yours. I was born on the seventh of October 1991.   
  
I am sorry that I have dropped this on you so suddenly, and that I have dredged up the past. You’re probably happy with a family on your own, and now I come along. I shall understand completely if you don’t wish to have anything to do with me. I just thought you should know, although you possibly do already know. Just in case you didn’t know, like I did up until a few weeks ago, I’m letting you know now.  
  
Sorry, I have a tendency to babble when I’m nervous, which is why I’m doing this by email. If we were on the phone, you probably wouldn’t be able to understand me.  
  
If you want to get in contact, I can be most easily reached on this email address.  
  
Yours Sincerely,  
  
Willow Rosenberg   
  
Willow glanced over her shoulder at Jenny, “What do you think?” she asked. Jenny nodded.  
  
“It tells him everything you wanted to say.”  
  
“Okay then,” Willow smiled, before she hit the send button, and sent the message off into cyberspace.  
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
**WASHINGTON DC, HOOVER BUILDING**  
  
(Yay, finally into Bones Territory)  
  
Seeley Booth dropped into his office chair, letting it spin once, before he faced his computer switching it on. Even though it was a Saturday, he had been roped into heading into the office by the large stack of reports and other paperwork that had accumulated during his and Bones’ last case, which they had solved yesterday.  
  
Booth logged into his computer and sighed, running his eyes and stretching his back. At least he wasn’t supposed to have Parker this weekend.   
  
Booth’s eyes flickered over to a framed photo of his son that he kept on his desk. Parker beamed at him from beneath the glass, his blonde curls tousled from the game of touch football he and his dad had just shared. The photo always made Booth smile. Today was no exception.  
  
Booth smiled and turned back to his computer, getting onto his email, like he did every morning when he logged onto his computer. He hoped there would be a new message from Bones, although she rarely emailed him, preferring to call him, or just come and see him. Sweets, on the other hand, always was sending Booth, and the rest of the squints, for that matter, emails, usually just joke emails that made their way around offices. Booth liked them, and if he thought they were particularly funny, he would forward them on. If not, he deleted them.   
  
Of course, Sweets also sent annoying messages to Booth and Bones about when their next session was. They were always deleted straight after reading…or even before.  
  
When his in-box opened, Booth let out a sigh of relief. No emails from Sweets, but no emails from Bones either. Just one from his boss reminding him about when his reports were due, and one from a certain Willow Rosenberg with a subject that said “IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ.”  
  
Booth frowned, and checked his Virus protection program was on and functioning 100 percent. Once before he had clicked on an email from someone he didn’t know, and had gotten a virus onto his computer that had tried to delete all of the evidence files and case reports on his computer. Thankfully he’d had back ups of everything, but he’d gotten into trouble with his boss. He’d learned from the mistake.   
  
Cautiously, he clicked on the message. It opened up quickly, which informed him that it was short, and not very big. It was reassuring, since he figured Viruses would be fairly large, and take a long time to load up.   
  
The message came up on his screen, and Booth read it, his mouth slowly dropping open as he read. He reached the end, and read it through again, then a third time.   
  
Memories came flooding back to him of the small, impish red head that had held his heart throughout his junior and senior years of high school. Carmen Stuart had arrived at the high school Booth and Cam attended at the start of their junior year, and had quickly become friends with him. Booth had quickly become infatuated with the petite red head with the enchanting smile and the green eyes that Booth could so easily get lost in. By Christmas time of their junior year, Seeley and Carmen had been going out. Booth had looked after her when her beloved grandmother had died, and she’d helped him watch out for Jared. Booth’s pop had loved the girl like she was his own granddaughter, and approved immensely of her. She went to the same church as the Booth family, and quite often the Booths and the Stuarts sat together. Throughout their senior year they had gone out, and Booth had taken Carmen to the prom. They had even got into the same college. Carmen was their high school valedictorian, and Booth had cheered the loudest at the end of her speech.

 

That summer they slept together for the first time, and had discussed getting married, but both had decided that they would wait until after college. College had then started, and Carmen had flourished in the academic environment. Booth had majored in sports, but he had already begun thinking of following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and joining the army. Carmen had supported him in his dream, and they had celebrated when he had been successfully enlisted. She, along with Pops and Jared had waved him off at the airport when he’d shipped out in May, and when he came home, Jared and Cam had told him that only a couple of months after he’d left, Carmen had dropped out of college and disappeared. No one had seen her since. Then, years later, he’d been called in to identify her body, found several years after her apparent suicide.   
  
This girl said she was born in October 1991. The timing certainly matched. Booth blinked, realizing all of a sudden that, for the last sixteen years, he’d possibly had a daughter. He wondered what she looked like. He hoped she looked like her mother, with the rich red hair, and emerald green eyes.   
  
Booth read the email again, and then hit the print button. He grabbed the printed email, and clicked out of his email account, locking his computer for security, before he hurried out of his office, determined to go and see a certain young psychologist.  



	7. Chapter 7

Unsurprisingly, Sweets was in his office, even though it was the weekend. Like Booth, he was bogged down in paperwork regarding the case, as well as some paperwork from sessions he’d had during the week with several agents. While having sessions with agents was a difficult job, the most difficult by far was Booth and Dr. Brennan. It made Sweets flinch just thinking about it. They were so in love with each other, and yet they were so blind to it, it was ridiculous.   
  
A knocking on the door made Sweets jump. Who the heck would come and see him on a Saturday morning? When Booth came in, Sweets’ question was answered.  
  
“Agent Booth, what can I do for you today?” Sweets pleasantly asked, picking up a pen and drumming it lightly on his desk. There was a look in Booth’s eyes though that made Sweets stop. Something was obviously bothering the agent.  
  
“You’re good at analyzing letters and emails and that, aren’t you Sweets?”  
  
“Well, I’m not an expert, but I do know a bit about that. Why, did you get something in the mail, Booth? Something threatening?”  


“No, not threatening, I just want you to have a look at it.”  
  
“Is it linked to the case?”  
  
“No, just look at it, Sweets.” Booth handed over the paper. It was a printed email. Sweets read the message, and then read it again.  
  
“Are they lying?” Booth asked.  
  
“I can’t really tell, Booth. It’s not like when you’re watching them in the interrogation room.”  
  
“Sweets, you aren’t helping” Booth groaned, flopping onto the couch. Sweets got up from his desk and sat opposite Booth on his seat.  
  
“Booth, is this real?” The younger man seriously asked.  
  
“Possibly. I was with Carmen Stuart at the right time; we were together in high school. The last time I saw her was when I left to go to war, in May, 1991.”   
  
“Where is she now, do you know?”  
  
“She died in some point of 1992. Suicide. I was the one who had to ID her body when they found it in some cave about ten years ago.”  
  
“How old were you, Booth?”   
  
“I would have been 19 when she was born, but I was only eighteen when I left to go to the war.”  
  
“Was Carmen the same age as you?”  
  
“Yeah, she was about a month younger than me. When I came back, Jared and Cam told me that she went missing about a month or so after I left.”  
  
“Cam? Dr. Saroyen was involved in this?”  
  
“She was Carmen’s best friend. Apparently, Cam was the one who filed the missing persons report. Carmen’s parents weren’t concerned, apparently. They said that they’d had a fight with Carmen, and the next day she packed her bags and ran off. “  
  
Both men fell silent as they came to the same conclusion simultaneously. Booth could imagine Carmen, scared out of her mind, telling her staunchly catholic parents that she was pregnant with his child. They would have disowned her on the spot. She would have been too scared to turn to anyone else she knew, even though he was sure Pops or Cam would have taken her in, so she’d dropped out of college, packed her bags, and got out of town, never to return. Five months later, she would give birth to a baby girl, and give the tiny infant up for adoption, and would end her life alone within the next year. Booth felt guilt well up within his chest.  
  
Sweets watched the emotions that rolled within Booth as he struggled with the bombshell.  
  
“Booth, It isn’t your fault, you never knew. Nobody told you.”  
  
“When I found out she went missing, I should have asked around. It’s so obvious.”  
  
Sweets let Booth brood to himself, reading the email a few more times to himself.  
  
“Booth, do you want to know some things about Willow? I can't get much, but I can get a little bit about what she's like from her writing.”  
  
Booth looked straight at Sweets, and nodded.  
  
“Alright, from her writing style, which is quite formal for a sixteen year old, I would say that she’s good at English, and probably school in General. “  
  
“Just like her mom. She was the valedictorian when we graduated from high school. She was majoring in literature when we were at college. She wanted to be a journalist. What else can you tell me?”  
  
“Not much. From the way she apologizes, I think she is not very certain and sure of herself at the moment. Her confidence and self esteem have probably taken a battering since she found out she was adopted.”  
  
Booth nodded in understanding. He’d seen lots of kids with insecurities over the years, and knew how much little things sent them off kilter. He didn’t want to imagine what a major thing like discovering you were adopted did to the psych of a teenager.  
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
Later that same Saturday morning, Booth was back in his office. He had started on his paperwork, but his mind was a million miles away, in a town called Sunnydale in California. He quickly gave up, setting the files aside. He opened up the email, and read it again, a slight smile on his face. Although their was no concrete evidence, other than his name being on Willow’s birth certificate, and on the adoption papers, and the time of her birth matching up with when he and Carmen were together, his gut was telling him that it was real, that Willow Rosenberg was his daughter.   
  
Hesitating for a second, Booth clicked out of the email, and got into the FBI database, to see if he could find anything out about his daughter. Criminal or medical records, school results, anything.  
  
It was surprisingly easy to find her.   
  
Out of habit, Booth looked at her criminal history first. It came up blank, except for being witness to a couple of incidents involving gangs on PCP, a gas explosion or two, and finding the bodies of two of her classmates in a classroom at her school. His eyebrows shot open. What the hell kind of place was Sunnydale.  
  
Opening up a new search on the FBI database and typed in Sunnydale, CA. Facts, figures, and Stats came up on the screen. The first thing that Booth saw was the mortality figures. How the heck did one town have more deaths in one year than any of the major cities in America? His eyes flickered over to the population. Yes, just your average, medium sized town. Not small, but certainly not a city. Why were there so many homicides? Booth got onto the Sunnydale Police Departments website, using his FBI clearance password to get into their files. He looked through their reports, his mouth dropping open. If he even dared to hand in a report for a homicide that was of a better quality than the ones done by the Sunnydale police, he would be kicked out of the FBI. He looked through them all, Noticing, but not really caring about the number of cases of ‘Barbecue fork injury to neck’ attributed to cause of death, as well as a unusually high number of wild animal attacks, and incidents caused by Gangs on PCP.   
  
Something was very not right in the town. He went back to the FBI database site, and scanned through the rest of the information. Eleven churches and fifteen different cemeteries. Low house prices, lots of parkland, and a playground, a kindergarten, a elementary school, a junior high school, a high school, and a campus of the University of California where listed as local facilities, as well as shopping strips, a club, a couple of bars and a mall, as well as so called perfect weather, and a bright, happy, chirpy and very green small town feeling.   
  
Seeley shook his head. All was not as it seemed in Sunnydale, CA.   
  
The next thing he got onto was Willow’s medical records, unconsciously checking for any signs of abuse the girl may have received. Her record was reasonably clear, a trip to hospital when she was five to have her appendix taken out, another trip to the hospital with a bad case of the flu when she was seven. She broke her arm when she was nine in an accident at school. In her early childhood, that was it. She attended annual check ups at her local GP, and nothing had ever come up as being wrong. Then, Booth got to the last year. Willow had been in hospital four times in the past year. Twice with concussions, once with cracked ribs, and another time with deep cuts and abrasions that had resulted in the need for a unit of blood being administered through an IV. Booth frowned. He’d seen similar types of wounds in people that fought regularly on the streets, and Booth had a horrid vision of a young girl, who was the spitting image of Carmen when she was sixteen, lying in a deserted alleyway, drenched in blood, while several large figures stood over her, watching and laughing as she slowly and painfully bled to death on the cold concrete, begging them to get help.  



	8. Chapter 8

Cam was surprised to say the least when she opened her front door to find Booth standing there. Ever since he had broken it off with her after the Epps case he had limited their exposure outside of work to the occasional drink at the bar, or a meal together at the Diner.  
  
“Seeley, What are you doing here? Do we have a case?”  
  
“No, I just wanted to ask you some things.”  
  
“Okay, come on in.” Cam stood aside and let the FBI agent into her house, confused, and just a tad worried. She could see in Booth’s eyes that something was wrong, and it was scaring her. She closed her front door and walked into her living room. Booth was sitting on her couch, rubbing his face wearily with his hands.  
  
“Do you want anything to drink? A beer, Coffee?”  


“A beer would be great, thanks Cam.”  
  
Cam nodded and got two bottles out of the fridge, before returning to the living room and sitting beside her oldest friend, giving him one. They both opened their drinks and took a swig.  
  
“Do you remember, just before she disappeared, if Carmen was acting weird?” Booth asked. Cam’s eyebrows both rose questioningly.  
  
“Wow, what brought this on, Booth?”  
  
“Just answer the question, Cam. And no, this is not part of an investigation, I’m just asking out of curiosity.”  
  
“Oh, okay then. Well, I knew that she’d been sick in the week before, and she’d looked pale, even paler than usual, since just after you left. She was a little nervous, on edge. The first day she didn’t go to college I thought that she was just taking a sick day, but when she was gone for the second day, and she hadn’t called me I got worried and called her parents, and they told me that they’d fought and she’d run away. Why?”  
  
Booth didn’t say anything, but ran his fingers through his hair. It made his theory about Carmen’s reasons for leaving sound plausible, very plausible. He pulled out the print out of the email, and handed it wordlessly to Cam, who opened it up, and read it, her eyes widening with every word she read.  
  
“Please tell me this isn’t your idea of a practical joke, Seeley.”  
  
“It isn’t, Cam. Trust me, it really isn’t.”  
  
“Booth, if this is true then…”  
  
“I’ve had a daughter for almost half my life, and I’ve ignored her existence, which pretty much puts me in the running for worst father of the year award.”  
  
“Seeley, stop it. You didn’t know. No-one knew.”  
  
“It was obvious. You know how much Carmen’s parents loved her; it would have to have been something significant for them to kick her out like that.”  
  
“That’s not the point Seeley. You were away, and you aren’t psychic. You couldn’t have known. Besides, what could you have done if you had known? You were nineteen, Seeley. You were an enlisted solder, fighting in a foreign country. At the time, were you ready to be a father?”  
  
Booth paused, before shaking his head. Being partially responsible for the upbringing of his brother was one thing, but being an actual Dad was something that was completely different. Hell, there were days with Parker that had Booth doubting his ability now.   
  
“What happened to Carmen’s parents anyway? The last time I saw them was when they buried her body after it got found. This might be why they kept giving me freaky looks the whole service, as if they blamed me. Oh, they probably do.”  
  
“Seeley, stop it. Stop blaming yourself. I read in the paper a few years ago that Carmen’s dad died, it was in the obituaries. I don’t know about her mom though.”  
  
Booth let his feeling of grief flicker across his face, before he stored it away in his head. He remembered Carmen’s dad as one of the funniest guys he ever knew, always laughing over some joke, but at the same time so devoted to his daughter. Carmen’s death would have shattered him.   
  
“Thanks for the beer,” Booth sighed, placing the empty bottle in the coffee table. Cam nodded.  
  
“Any time you want, Seeley. What are you going to do about” Cam glanced at the email in her hands. Booth shrugged.  
  
“I don’t know, I’ll send her an email back, and see what she says. I’ve got no idea what I should say, I mean, what do you say in a circumstance like this?’  
  
Cam shrugged, unable to offer her friend any help.   
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
Willow logged onto her email account the moment she turned on her laptop, and grinned when she saw the reply to her email waiting in her in-box.  
  
“He replied,” She squealed excitedly. Giles lowered the book he had been reading and surveyed the young red head’s face. She was beaming brightly, the first real smile he’d seen on her face in a long time.  
  
“What did he have to say?” Giles asked curiously. The rest of the group hadn’t arrived at the library for the research session yet, so it was just the two of them.   
  
Willow cleared her throat and began to read, _“Dear Willow,”_ she began,   
  
_“I was surprised when I received your email, and a little shocked. The last day I saw Carmen was the day I shipped out, back in 1991. I loved her so much, and when I came back, I fully planned on proposing to her, but she was missing, and then she was found, and I had to move on. She was a wonderful woman, and I think of her often.  
  
You mentioned living in Sunnydale. Is it nice there? Do you have many friends? What are your favourite subjects at school?  
  
You probably want to know more about me, considering it’s highly likely that I am your dad. I work for the FBI (which you already know, considering you sent this email to my work account) and I work with Dr. Temperance Brennen, who is a forensic anthropologist (which means she studies bones and is able to tell all this stuff about the person the belonged to, including how they died).  
  
I guess we should think about getting the truth confirmed or denied. The best way to do this would be a DNA test, which will be made difficult because of the distance between us. What I need you to do is to get a cotton bud, and swab the inside of your mouth with it. Don’t let anyone else touch it afterwards. Put it in a plastic container and seal it. Then put it in a box and sent it to this address.  
  
C. Saroyen  
Medico-legal department  
Jeffersonian Institution  
Washington D.C.   
  
Dr. Saroyen, or Cam, was a friend of your mother and I when we were in high school. I’ve shown the email to her. Other than your mother’s parents she was the last person to see your mom before she left.  
  
Feel free to email back, I would like to know more about you.   
  
Seeley Booth._  
  
Willow was smiling as she read the last part of the email, and immediately clicked to reply to it, as Giles smiled. Agent Booth sound like a kind and supportive person, exactly the kind of person he imagined Willow having as a father, or at least what she deserved for a father.  
  
Willow hesitated before she began to write out her reply, suddenly unsure of what she should write.  
  
_Dear Agent Booth,_  
  
It’s great to hear back from you, and that you’re taking this seriously (I was kind of worried that you wouldn’t have a clue who I was talking about, or that you would just ignore it.) You asked lots of questions, and I’ll answer them the best that I can.  
  
Sunnydale is an alright place to live. The weather’s nice, but I like the winter time more than the summer time, because I have red hair and I burn really easily. Also, summertime means there is no school, which I don’t like. I’m a school kind of person. I like English, maths, and science classes, but my favourite class is computers, partially because I really like computers, and also because our teacher, Ms. Calender, is really nice. In case you were wondering, my least favourite class is PE, because I’m not very co-ordinated, and I tend to look spastic (Giles says that I should put a translation in, just in case you aren’t used to speaking Californian teenager. Spastic means silly or stupid.)   
  
By the way, Giles is our school librarian. He’s English, and very smart about books (But he hates computers, which means that I’m his official how to girl on all things computers (except now he goes to Ms. Calender a lot, which I don’t mind. He goes all shy and blushes and polishes his glasses and stammers (Just like I do when I try to talk to boys, except I don’t do the glasses thing, because I don’t wear any))  
  
And, I realize now that I am babbling. Sorry about that, I told you I do it all the time. Now, I think there’s two of your questions answered. I’m study/net girl, and Sunnydale is a nice place to live. Right, next question.  
  
I have two main friends, and a heap of sort of extended friends.  
  
My best friend’s name is Xander (short for Alexander, but no one calls him that, including the teachers and his parents). We’ve been best friends since Kindergarten. He’s really funny, and makes me laugh, even when I’m feeling sad. Last year, our other best friend, Jesse, was killed. It was really sad, and it kind of forced the both of us to grow up and realize that the world is not a very nice place for those who are too naive of the risks.  
  
The day that Jesse died, a new girl came to school, her name is Buffy. She’s my other main friend. She’s really cool, and is almost as good at coming up with witty jokes as Xander. She’s the fashionable one of us three, mainly because neither Xander nor I are overly fashionable, while she’s very up with what is ‘in’ because she was born and grew up in L.A.  
  
I have other friends too. There’s Xander’s girlfriend Cordelia, who used to be a real bitch, but has grown up and matured a lot since she and Xander started going out. I’ve been going through a hard time lately with the whole being adopted thing, and she’s been really helpful and nice.  
  
My last major friend is Buffy’s boyfriend, Angel, who is a little older than the rest of us. He doesn’t go to school, but he’s really smart, and he looks out for us and I think he kind of looks a lot like a younger version of you. Is your family Irish by any chance? Maybe you’re related (or we’re related, whichever.) He’s kind of like an over protective big brother towards me, even though Xander really doesn’t like him (Mainly because before he and Cordy were going out he had a big crush on Buffy, but she was more interested in Angel.) He’s also very clever, and knows heaps about history and foreign languages, although I'm kind of not looking forward to showing the others a photo of you, because they're going to freak out because of the resemblance, which you can kind of understand. I mean, how would it be for your best friend to find out that her father is the spitting image of your boyfriend. It would give you a major wiggins (translation: Wiggins means bad feeling.)   
  
There I go again with the babbling, and the Californian teenager speak.  
  
Other than that there are the odd people you say hi to in the corridor when you see them, and the ones that actually reply (Which aren’t many, I’m not miss popular) and, of course, Giles the librarian, and Ms. Calender. My group spend a lot of time in the library (which I don’t understand, because I’m the only one that does my homework in there, but I guess it’s quiet, and no-one else goes in there, so it’s our own little area)  
  
Giles is like a dad to most of us, since Buffy’s dad lives in L.A. with his old secretary, Xander’s dad pretty much lives at one of the local bars or passed out on the couch, and my dad (well, you know, adoptive dad) spends about a month in Sunnydale every year. (Cordy’s dad is still around but Angel’s dad died years ago)  
  
Um, okay, I started babbling again, and didn’t realize how long this was getting. I will do the DNA test after I send this, and send it so that it makes the late mail run (there’s a express parcel run on Saturday nights down here, which is convenient, don’t you think?)  
  
Anyway, I should go. Hope your not getting into trouble for having, you know, non work emails being sent to your work address. Do you have a non work email that I could send the next email to?  
  
From Willow.   
  
Willow read over the message, double checking that nothing was mentioned of the supernatural. Satisfied, she clicked on the send button, and hurried off to see if Giles had any clean cotton buds.


	9. Chapter 9

Booth had finally started on his reports when Sweets burst into his office.  
  
“Sweets? What is it?" Booth frowned, slightly puzzled at the young Psychologist's actions. Sweets was carrying seven large looking books in his arms, and his eyes were lit up with excitement.  
  
“Okay, so when you gave me that email to read, the name Willow Rosenberg meant something, but I couldn’t remember what. I’d read it somewhere else, but I couldn’t remember where I’d read it. I was looking in my bookshelf to see if I could see something that would jolt my memory, when I found this.” Sweets quickly spoke, handing over the top book on his pile. Booth set aside his reports and picked it up. He read the title.  
  
_‘Raising a child in the 21st century, a guide for parents.’_  
  
Booth looked up at Sweets with his eyebrows raised challengingly.  
  
“Look at the author.” Sweets explained. Booth lowered his eyes back to the bottom of the front cover and read the name of the author.  
  
_‘Shelia Rosenberg.’_  


“Open it up.” Sweets instructed, and Booth opened the book, and was greeted with the author’s biography written on the inside of the dustcover, complete with a family picture. Booth froze as he looked at the picture. It could so easily have been a picture of a younger Carmen, except for the subtle differences. Booth could see not only Carmen, but his own mother in the girl that sat beside a woman, whom he assumed to be Shelia Rosenberg, and who had a man standing behind her with an arm around her shoulders. He glanced at the caption.  
  
_‘Shelia Rosenberg with her husband Ira, and their daughter Willow (aged 15), at home in Sunnydale, CA.’_  
  
Booth placed the book down on his desk, and looked up at the young Psychologist.  
  
“That’s the most recent of her books. Because she deals with child psychology, I don’t read her books very often, I only reference when there’s a case involving a child. I went home and picked up her older books if you wanted to have a look. The pictures are all different, but the biography doesn’t change.”  
  
Booth lowered his eyes once again to the book that he had already opened and read the short biography. It was only the last paragraph that interested him.  
  
_‘Shelia Rosenberg is a world class lecturer, and runs seminars and programs on Successful parenting and the management of children throughout the globe. She is accompanied on her tours by her Rabbi husband Ira. Shelia Rosenberg has one daughter, Willow, who is kept sheltered from her mother’s hectic public life by remaining at the family home while her parents are away.’_  
  
“Her mom is a child psychologist; she must have had a great upbringing.” Booth said quietly. Sweets shrugged.  
  
“Maybe, but I was more thinking along the lines of she doesn’t see her parents that much. I looked on Shelia Rosenberg’s website, and she spends at least nine months a year on tour each year, and Ira Rosenberg has his own lecture tour that often runs in unison with hers, so they spend a lot of time traveling together, and they're both away from home at the same time.”  
  
Booth grimaced at the idea of a child growing up with their parents being away so much, “No wonder she sounds so anxious and shy when she’s writing to me, if she feels as though her adoptive parents have abandoned her, what my reaction is going to be.”  
  
Sweets sadly nodded his agreement, having come to the same conclusion. Booth frowned and tapped open his email account, checking it. There was a message for him from Willow sitting there waiting for him. He read it, grinning as he learned more about his prospective daughter. He stopped smiling when he read about her friend that had died. It seemed that already, aged only sixteen, Willow had been touched by the true cruelty of the human race.  
  
Sweets opened up the other books, and Booth tore his eyes away from the email to look at them. In the earliest image Willow was only one year old, according to the caption, and then progressed up to a four year old, a seven year old, a nine year old, an eleven year old and then a thirteen year old. Booth looked at the images of his daughter, which he considered Willow to be, even though it hadn't been confirmed yet, as she seemed to grow up right in front of him. His eyes were drawn to the smile upon her seven year old self. If only for the difference in hair colour and the eye colour, it could be Parker’s face smiling up at him. Maybe there was some of himself in Willow too, though he couldn’t see it.   
  
At the noise of Sweets clearing his throat, Booth turned his computer screen around so the younger man could read the email.  
  
“What do you make of that?” he asked, still looking at the pictures. Sweets sighed and read the email quickly, trying to get an insight into the life of the Californian teenager in question.  
  
“She’s suffered a loss at a young age, and I can see that it’s had a lingering affect on her. I think it’s made her worldlier and less innocent about the world. She knows it’s a dangerous place from experience, but the way she talks about her current friends indicates that she’s very happy with them.”  
  
“Did you read the bit about what subjects she likes and does well at?” Booth asked with a light grin on his face.   
  
“Yeah, why?” Sweets asked.  
  
“How on earth did I father a geek? There’s nothing wrong with that, but we Booths tend to be more, er, brawn than brain.”  
  
Sweets dissolved into laughter, “Was her mother smart?”  
  
“Oh yeah, she was Valedictorian, but English, Languages and literature were her specialties. Willow sounds more like a science and maths and Computers kind of person. Oh God, she’s a squint. Bones is gonna have a field day.”  
  
Sweets laughed even more, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.  
  
“I’m so glad that you find this amusing, Sweets” Booth grumbled, though he too was fighting his urge to smile.   
  
Sweets got a hold of himself and his chuckles died down as he resumed his usual, serious, facial expression.   
  
“Have you told any of the squints yet?”  
  
"Cam knows, because she was one of the last ones to see Carmen before she disappeared. They were at college together, and I got Willow to send a mouth swab to Cam at the Jeffersonian so she can do a DNA analysis.”  
  
“What about Dr. Brennan?”  
  
“No, and I’ll hold off until the DNA tests come back. You know how she likes proof and evidence and all that.”  
  
“What do you think Parker’s reaction is going to be?”  
  
“He’ll be excited, and he’ll probably be jealous of Willow at some point, but overall I think he’ll like it. He’s always wanted a sibling, even though I think it was a younger one he had in mind, not an older sister that’s ten years older then him.”  
  
“What about Rebecca?”  
  
“She’ll be okay with it, I mean, it’s not like we were together at the time. We didn’t even meet until after I came back from Iraq. By that point, Willow would have already been about six, and Carmen was dead.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess.” Sweets agreed.  
  
“Do you mind if I keep these, you know?” Booth gestured at the books.  
  
“Go ahead,” Sweets said with a smile, “And if you need any help, you know where to find me.”  
  
“Thanks Sweets.” Booth smiled as Sweets left his office, before he looked down at the photos of his daughter. A wry smile crossed his face as he looked at the photos, before he turned his computer screen around, and hitting the reply button with his mouse.  
  
_‘To Willow,_  
  
It was good to hear back from you so soon. I’m glad to hear about your friends, they sound like they are very supportive and helpful. I’m glad that you like school. Your mom was good at school; she was valedictorian when we both graduated from high school. You should be happy that you got her mind, because I’m more a physically doing things kind of guy, and I’m more people smart than book smart.   
  
I was sorry to read about your friend Jesse dying. It must have been very hard to loose a friend like that.  
  
In relation to your Irish friend Angel (Is that his real name?), I know that my grandmother on my Dad’s side was Irish, so I guess it is possible.   
  
What do your parents do? One of my friends is a Psychologist, and he recognized your last name, and the fact that you lived in Sunnydale, and showed me your mom’s books. It must have been good growing up with an expert on Kids. You mentioned your dad not being around much. Do you know why?  
  
Sorry, it probably sounds like I’m questioning you like I do to a suspect. It’s a hard habit to break.  
  
I don’t have many friends outside of work, and my work does keep me kind of busy. In my down time, I enjoy watching sport on TV, and reading comic books. I also play some sports (Depending on how busy I am, and what time of year it is).  
  
Do you have any siblings, or, you know, adopted siblings technically? You mentioned a couple of your friends, and it sounds like you’re all very close.   
  
Did you send the DNA test off? It’ll probably get here tomorrow at some point, or maybe Tuesday. It is convenient that there is a late night mail run on a Saturday, although kind of unusual.  
  
Sunnydale sounds like a nice enough kind of place; although I did some reading (I was curious.) Is the crime rate usually that high? I was surprised at how many cemeteries there were, considering it’s not a large city.  
  
This email is fine for you to send stuff to, because I don’t have another one. I won’t get in trouble.   
  
I hope to hear from you soon.  
  
Seeley Booth.'


	10. Chapter 10

Willow checked her email late on Sunday night, having been out patrolling with Buffy, Angel, Xander and Cordy. Giles had opted to stay behind when he heard that they were planning on starting off at the Bronze.  
  
She smiled when she saw that she had a new email from her ‘maybe’ dad. She smiled as she read it. It was Monday the next day. Maybe this time tomorrow she would know for sure whether or not Special Agent Seeley Booth was her father. If he was, she was going to show the others the photo of him she found on the computer. There was no use creating such a huge disturbance in the group over nothing.  
  
Willow decided to type a quick email off to Agent Booth before she went to bed  
  
_‘To Agent Booth,  
  
I did some research on my mom and found out her being valedictorian. I think it’s cool. My friends found a photo of her on the computer when we were looking her up, and they reckon we look alike. I’m sure you are very smart.  
  
Thank-you for your condolences about Jesse. I still miss him sometimes, but Buffy’s been helping us get over it and move on.  
  
I wondered if you would make the connection between my mother and I. My father is a Rabbi, and he spends little time in Sunnydale though, as does my mother. They spend most of their time on the lecture circuit and attending different conferences around at the world, and they also like going on holidays. When they both are in town, it doesn’t last much longer than a week or maybe two, and then they’ll be gone again for another six months, or more, so it wasn’t that great when I was growing up. I was just the guinea pig that they tried out my mother's theories on (I'm not talking to my parents at the moment, or they're not talking to me, either way. I'm staying with Buffy and her mom.)  
  
They’re off in Spain at the moment, and no, I have no siblings, or rather adopted siblings  
  
You sound like Xander. He likes comic books too, and has a huge stash under his bed (though he isn’t so keen on watching sport.) I don’t really follow much sport. I like to keep track of how the school team is going, because I know those people, sort of, anyway.  
  
I sent the DNA test away last night. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow sometime. I’m really excited about finding out if you are really my dad, or if, you know.  
  
Never mind, I’m just going to shut up now.  
  
Sunnydale’s crime rates are actually down on what they were two years ago. I don’t really know why they are so high. Maybe it’s just the kind of town that attracts the wrong kind of person.’_  
  
Willow snorted with laughter as she wrote that,  
  
_‘The crime rate has always been high though, so the demand for the graveyards is high. My friends and I think that the businesses that are the most successful in the entire town are the morgue, the funeral directors, and the stone masons.  
  
I’m glad that I’m not going to get you into trouble.  
  
I hope that you’re well, and that you aren’t being distracted by murder investigations because of me.  
  
From Willow.’_  
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
Cam had not been at the Jeffersonian long that morning when the courier arrived with a parcel labeled express post from a place called Sunnydale. She knew instantly what it was. Seeley had given her the heads up yesterday that he had instructed Willow to send a mouth swab to her. She opened up the parcel, and found a single cotton bud, enclosed safely in the canister for the packet of cotton buds sitting in the packaging, surrounded by padding. She put gloves on and took the parcel into her lab, where she carefully got the swab out, sending it off for DNA tests. She’d pulled a favor and had them assigned to the top of the list. With a bit of luck, they’d have a result by the end of the day.  
  
Cam knew that Booth had already, at least subconsciously, accepted Willow as his daughter, and Cam was inclined to believe him, but she was going to wait until the teenager’s DNA results came back before she committed herself to the theory. It all was very plausible, and there was no way Carmen would have cheated on Booth, and Cam remembered what her old best friend had been like during the month after Booth left, before she disappeared. Carmen had been a shadow of her former self, very much still feeling the loss of her lover. She’d pined for him, and thrown herself into her studies, determined to have established herself when Booth returned. Cam had suspected, though Seeley had neither confirmed nor denied her speculation, that he’d proposed to Carmen before he’d been shipped out, promising her to marry her when he returned.  
  
Only thing was, when he did return, Carmen, the only one who knew the truth, was long dead, and Willow had been whisked away by her new, adopted parents.  
  
Sometimes life just sucked.  
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
Booth strode into the lab, nodding in greeting to the guards at the door, who nodded in reply. He’d gotten the text message from Cam twenty minutes ago, the one that asked him to come to the lab. It didn’t take an IQ of over One hundred and sixty to figure out what it involved, considering that there was no case.  
  
He glanced up on the platform, and spotted Bones and Zach working on some hundred year old skeleton, talking in low voices. Acting casually, he walked around the platform to Cam’s office, knocking on the door before entering.  
  
“Hey, you wanted to see me?” he grinned. Cam got up from her desk, and grinned at Booth, picking up an envelope from her desk. It had been opened.  
  
“Is that…Is that what I think it is?” He nervously asked. Cam nodded  
  
“The DNA sample arrived this morning, and I added the sample of your DNA we have on file here and I called in a few favors and had it put as a high priority.”  
  
“Thanks, Cam.” Booth smiled, taking the envelope from her and sitting against her desk. Cam got up and sat next to him.  
  
“This is going to change my life, Cam. If this is positive I’m going to, instantaneously, become the father of a teenaged girl.”  
  
“You’ll be fine, Seeley. You’ve already started off the hardest part, getting to know her. You just have to keep going and take it as it comes.”  
  
Booth pulled out the contents of the envelope and looked at the cover sheet. He glanced over the paragraph at the top of the page, and the couple of graphs that decorated the page, before he looked at the bottom of the page.  
  
‘POSITIVE MATCH: 99.99 percent chance of parent child relationship.’  
  
“Congratulations Seeley, It’s a girl” Cam said with a wide smile on her face.  
  
Booth froze, looking at the papers in his hand. There were so many people he would have to tell. Parker, Bones, Rebecca, Jared, Pops (He shuddered at the thought of that conversation), the rest of the Squints, his boss at the FBI, Caroline would probably find out, especially if he wanted to petition for custody, although he was planning on making an assessment of her living conditions and how happy she was before he made any major steps like that. There was no point uprooting her from her friends, her school, and everything she’d ever known, just because he wanted her close. She was sixteen after all.  
  
Booth realized he’d been holding his breath, and forced himself to exhale, before inhaling again.  
  
“Booth, are you alright?” Cam asked, slightly concerned.  
  
“Yeah, just give me a few minutes for it to all sink in.”  
  
“Okay then, just remember that I’m here if you need.”  
  
Booth nodded, his head lowered, keeping his face hidden, as he knew his emotions would be obvious to Cam.  
  
“Thank-you,” He murmured after a while, looking up again. Just as Cam guessed, there were tears in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him comfortingly.  
  
“Its okay, Seeley, It’ll all be alright.”  
  
“I can’t believe that I’ve had a kid out there all these years, all the stuff I missed. Willow admitted that her parents are away a lot, she’s practically raising herself. Her parent’s guinea pig, she called herself.”  
  
“It isn’t your fault, Seeley.” Cam murmured reassuringly.  
  
“I know. At least Parker will be happy, he always wanted a sibling. Pops is gonna kill me though. Hey, I have a daughter, which makes her the first girl in the Booth clan in about five generations, according to Pops. He always said he wanted a great-granddaughter to spoil.”  
  
Cam laughed, “I guess he got his wish, You always were the kind of guy that would do the unexpected.”  
  
“I’m going to go email Willow and tell her the good news. I think she’ll be happy. She sounds like she wanted it to be true.”  
  
“What are you going to do after that, Booth?” Cam asked curiously.  
  
“Tell everyone, Bones, Parker, Rebecca, the rest of my family, and then I’ll head down there for a visit. I want to meet her face to face.”  
  
“Fair enough, don't let me stop you” Cam said with a grin. Booth slid off her desk and walked out of the office, and out of the lab, before going down to the basement garage and driving back to the Hoover building. He walked back to his office and got onto his computer, opening up his email. He grinned when he saw that Cam had sent him a copy of the results for him to forward onto Willow.  
  
He opened up a new email, and attached the results, before he began to write.  
  
_‘Dear Willow,_  
  
_I attached the results from the DNA tests to this email, I hope you have them. What they mean is that we are related, you are my daughter. I am you father._  
  
_And that sounded like a Star Wars quote. I’m sorry if that was cliché._  
  
_I think we should get together at some point. I am going to arrange to have a few days off work so I can come down to Sunnydale to meet you, because I really would like to meet you face to face._  
  
_I’m sorry if this sounds weird, but I’ve never done this before. I don’t really know what to write._  
  
_I’m also sorry about your parents being away for so much of the year. Who looks after you while they are gone? How long has this been going on? I’m sure they care about you very much, and that they miss you when they are gone, and that you aren't "Just their Guinea Pig." Do you get many post cards or phone calls or emails form them while they are away? Do you ever go away with them for a holiday?_  
  
_I know it sounds like I’m questioning you, but like I said; it’s a hard habit to break._  
  
_So, you aren’t into sport, and neither is your friend Xander. What do you do with your friends on the weekends?_  
  
_Just in case you were wondering, I am not married, and I never have been married. The closest I got was being kind of engaged to your mom. We were both too young to handle being married (we were only 18 at the time, so I promised that when I got back from the war, I would marry her, but when I came back she was gone.)_  
  
_I don’t know if you already knew this, but your mom died not too long after you were born. Her body was found in a cave and identified, and returned to her parents. That was the last time I saw them, at your mother’s funeral. I asked Carmen’s best friend from high school, Cam, (who I now work with. She’s the one who I got you to send the DNA to) and she told me that your grandfather died a couple of years ago, but we don’t know about your grandmother. Both of my parents are gone, but my grandad is still around. I think he’ll really like you. He’ll probably kick my butt for having fathered a kid pretty much straight out of high school though, but he's always said that he wanted a great-granddaughter to spoil. I’ll tell you more about my family when we meet._  
  
_When I learned that I was your father, I was so scared that I was going to stuff up. You sound like such a wonderful person, so much like your mother, and I don’t want to wreck that. The only experience I have of teenagers was the ones I grew up with, and the ones that I encounter through my work, which isn't much._  
  
_I hope I haven’t scared you off in this email, but I have so many questions. Please reply back and tell me when it would be okay for me to visit._  
  
_From Your Dad,_  
  
_Seeley Booth._


	11. Chapter 11

Willow waved cheerfully at Giles as she entered the library on Tuesday morning, her bag slung over her shoulder and she plopped into her usual seat and turned on the computer. Giles rubbed his eyes wearily and sipped his morning cup of tea.  
  
“Good morning Willow, how was your night?”  
  
“Vamp free and very productive as far as homework goes. How was yours?”  
  
“Mostly, very relaxing, although I am slightly worried about this lull in threats we’ve been facing lately.”  
  
“Buffy said this morning that she hadn’t notice a change in the number of vampires she was staking every night on patrol, why are you so worried?”  
  
“It just seems that we are overdue for our latest, er, fiasco and it, to borrow your abomination of the English language, is giving me a Wiggins.”  
  
“Well I’m personally not complaining, I’m still getting demon guts off my favourite pair of shoes.” Buffy said as she walked into the library, followed by Cordelia and Xander.  
  
“Hey guys” Willow greeted as she logged onto her email account.  
  
“Hey Willster, what are you looking up so early in the morning. The latest big bad?”  


“Nope, just checking if I have any emails from Agent Booth. And I do. What’s it going to say?”  
  
Willow clicked and waited for the email to load. The rest of the Scooby gang made themselves comfortable at the table, chatting about their own evening. Xander and Cordelia had gone to the movies together, and Buffy had met up with Angel at his house and gone patrolling for a few hours, before she’d returned home and done homework with Willow, and then gone to bed.  
  
Their idle conversation was disrupted, however, when Willow gave an excited squeal.  
  
“Oh my God,”  
  
“What’s wrong Wills” Xander asked worriedly.  
  
“I have a Dad” Willow squealed, her green eyes lit up with excitement, “The DNA test I sent came back as positive to his. Special Agent Seeley Booth is my Dad.”  
  
“That’s great Willow,” Buffy gushed, hugging Willow tightly.  
  
“Buffy, oxygen is good,” Willow panted.  
  
“Oh, Sorry Wills,” Buffy sheepishly let go.  
  
“It’s okay,” Willow grinned, then her face fell. She was going to have to tell the others about the uncanny resemblance between her dad and Angel. This was going to be so much fun. Not.  
  
“What’s wrong, isn’t you having a dad a good thing?” Buffy asked. Willow nodded enthusiastically.  
  
“It is, its just, well, he kind of looks freakishly like Angel. I mean, they’re not identical, my dad looks about ten years older, even though, you know, he can’t be, because Angel’s a vampire, but they look a lot alike.” Willow babbled quickly, getting into Agent Booth’s file and opening up the photo. There was a stunned silence as the Scoobies looked over her shoulder; Willow could practically hear the other’s jaws hitting the ground. Giles was polishing his glasses furiously, while Xander, Cordelia, and Buffy looked gobsmacked.  
  
“Someone please say something?” Willow quietly asked.   
  
“Well, you did say the resemblance was, as you say, freakish.” Giles managed, before re recommenced polishing his glasses.  
  
“So, this guy that looks freakishly like Angel is your dad? Hey, imagine if Angel was, like, your great great great great grandfather.” Cordelia laughed at the thought.  
  
“I doubt it; Angel never mentioned having a kid while he was human, but still, ew. If Angel and I get married, that would make me your Step great great great great grandmother.” Buffy shuddered.   
  
“Maybe you should ask him, I mean, he did hide the whole oh, by the way I-am-a-vampire thing from you at first, what’s to stop him from hiding the fact that he had a kid a couple of hundred years ago.” Xander chimed in.   
  
“I suppose that he might have considered it to be kind of irrelevant, considering it did happen a really long time ago. I mean, it's kind of weird that, if Willow is Angel's great great granddaughter, or whatever, you ended up in the same time. I'm pretty sure Angel never expected one of his descendants to show up. Human descendants, not vampire spawn. Kind of ranks high in the freaky co-incidence scale,” Buffy defended her boyfriend  
  
"May I remind you, Buffy, that this is the hellmouth, and that weird coincidences can often be explained by that basic fact." Giles said, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily.  
  
"But Willow's not evil, just possibly the great grandchild of Angel from when he was still human." Buffy replied.  
  
“I asked my Dad if he was Irish, cos I'd seen the photo and thought of that possibility, and he said that his paternal grandmother was Irish.” Willow giggled.  
  
“Great, now every time I’m going to look at you, I’m going to see you as Angel’s ultimate grandchild.” Xander groaned. Willow pulled a face at her best friend.  
  
“It’s not that bad, I might not be related to Angel. And even if I was, it wouldn’t be so bad.”  
  
“Hello, have you seen that picture of your dad? It’s like looking at a picture of Angel, except maybe a little bit older, you know, looks wise, because I don’t think anyone could be older than Angel, you know, in normal years. How could Willow NOT be related to Angel?” Cordelia teased. Out in the corridor the bell rang, and all the teenagers groaned, even Willow.  
  
"I am so not going to be able to concentrate today,” She told Buffy as they walked out of the library, Willow having gotten out of the FBI database.   
  
Buffy laughed, “Welcome to my life, Willster, where inability to concentrate in class is normal.”  
  
BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO BtVS/XO  
  
Just like she had predicted, Willow had struggled to remain focus throughout the day, counting down the minutes to the close of the day so that she could reply to her father’s email. Her father, she loved how that sounded. It was true that she’d had a father all of her life, and Ira had never done anything to hurt her, physically at least, but he’d rarely been there. And then, there had been the bombshell that Ira wasn’t her biological father anyway, which had rocked Willow’s foundations to the very core. Now, with her biological father identified, she could begin to build up her life again.   
  
Willow let out a groan of relief when the last bell for the day echoed through the corridors of Sunnydale high. She collected her books and walked quickly out of class, going to her locker and grabbing her things that she wanted to take home for the day. Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia met her in the corridor, and they walked into the library together, only to find Giles and Ms Calender leaning up against the counter, kissing. The teenagers froze in the doorway, their facial expressions varying from horrified, to amused.  
  
“Aw isn’t it sweet.” Willow stage whispered.  
  
“It’s about time,” Cordelia added. Buffy and Xander shook their heads.  
  
“I’m sorry, but can I just say ew to the whole teacher’s kissing thing?” Xander commented, and Buffy nodded in agreement as Giles and Ms. Calender realized that they had an audience.  
  
“Haven’t you heard of knocking?” Giles said, his voice becoming flustered as he pushed his glasses up his nose.   
  
“Er, Giles, it is the school library, not your house.” Buffy reminded her Watcher as they entered the library. Willow immediately went to the computer and booted it up, so she could access her emails and send off a reply to her dad.  
  
“Oh, Ms Calender, I have a Dad, there was a positive DNA match and everything,” Willow excitedly told her favourite teacher. Jenny smiled.  
  
“That’s wonderful, Willow. Congratulations.”  
  
“Only thing is, he looks like Angel. A lot like Angel.” Buffy chimed in   
  
“I only found out this morning, and didn’t have time to send him an email in reply, so I’m going to do it now.” Willow told Jenny happily as she re logged into her emails  
  
"Don’t let, er, us stop you” Giles stammered, polishing his glasses. Willow grinned and opened up her email account. She opened up the email she got that morning, rereading it, before she opened up a reply box.  
  
_‘Dear Dad’_ she typed, smiling. Damn it felt good to type that phrase.   
  
_‘That felt really weird to type, but at the same time really cool. I’m so excited to have found you. I thought it would have taken a lot longer. By the way, the Star Wars quote thing wasn’t very cliche; in fact, I found it very appropriate (except I’d rather you didn’t chop my hand off. Joking.) I really want to meet you, how soon can you come. Because I’m at school through the week, weekends are a good time for you to come and visit, if you're not too busy. How about this weekend?_  
  
I’m sorry if I’m sounding pushy, but I really want to meet one of my biological parents. Oh, and I already knew that my mom was dead. I found her before I found you. I felt sad when I read about it.   
  
I’m used to my parents not being around. They were both there most of the time up until I was about six, before they started going away more often. Up until I was eight I had a Nanny that stayed with me all the time, except for when I was at school, and up until I was ten she came through the days on weekends and after school to make sure I didn’t damage the house and to make sure I ate. From about my eleventh birthday I haven’t had anyone staying with me, but my parents deposit money into my bank account every week for shopping and stuff, and I forward the bills on to their secretaries to take care of, so I don’t have to worry about that. It’s an okay arrangement, I guess, and I email them regularly too. I get a post card from them about once a month telling me what they’re up to, which is nice.  
  
As for what my friends and I do on the weekend? Well, we do our homework, and we go to the local teen hang out/club. Sometimes Buffy, Cordy and I will have girls day’s where we go shopping together, and I like working on my computer. Sometimes I write out computer programs (yes, it is very geeky, but I enjoy it).   
  
I’m sure you are a great guy, and that you won’t screw me up too much, You sound like a nice person, and I’m very excited to call you my dad.   
  
I hope you can come and visit me here in Sunnydale soon.  
  
Your Daughter, Willow.’  
  
Willow read over her email, checking that she’d made no hellmouthy references. Satisfied that it was appropriate for FBI eyes, she hit the send button and sent the message off into cyber space.  
  
“So,” she said cheerfully, turning her gaze to the rest of the group, “What are we researching this week?”


	12. Chapter 12

Booth automatically glanced up at the platform as he entered the lab. Despite the fact that it was still early in the day, Bones and Zach were already up there, studying some bones that were over 100 years old and had been discovered when a farmer had dug up some old tree stumps. The body had been in limbo for a few months as the team had been too busy to study the remains till now.   
  
“Facial structure indicates that the individual was of Caucasian decent,” Zach was telling Brennan, “Hip structure indicates that the individual was male, approximately 165 centimeters tall. The teeth indicate that he was aged between 28 and 34 years of age.”   


“Well done, Zach. I agree completely with your findings,” Bones commented, studying the skeleton that was laid out on the table. Booth swiped his card and went up the steps to the pair.  
  
“Booth, what are you doing here? Do we have a case? My phone hasn’t gone off at all.”  
  
“Nope, no case. I just need to talk to you about something.”  
  
“Alright,” Bones replied suspiciously, peeling off her gloves and leading Booth off the platform and around to her office. Up on the platform, Zach continued his study of the ancient body.   
  
Once they reached Bones’ office, Booth exhaled nervously. Bones frowned.  
  
“Booth, is something wrong? You seem nervous.”  
  
“Yeah, that would be because I am a bit nervous. I have no idea how to tell you about this, Bones.”  
  
“Are you alright, Booth? Is it about your health or something like that?”  
  
Booth shook his head quickly, “No, Bones. I’m fine. This is about something that happened almost seventeen years ago.”  
  
“Why would that affect me?” Bones queried.  
  
“Bones, I need you to not interrupt or ask questions until I’m done, okay?”  
  
“Okay,” Bones agreed, her curiosity making her interested.  
  
“Back when I was in high school there was this girl, Carmen Stuart. She and I got together late in my junior year, and we dated the whole way through our senior year. We got into the same college and we’d discussed getting married at some point, but I joined the army about halfway through our freshman year. I shipped out in May of that year. Carmen went missing about a month afterwards. Not long after I came back, her body was found in a cave. She’d died within two years of my leaving. Last week, I got an email from a sixteen year old girl in California named Willow, who’d just found out she was adopted. The name Willow’s mother gave as her father’s was mine. She tracked me down and asked me if I knew her mother. Willow’s mother was Carmen Stuart. Willow was born in early October, 1991. It was possible that she was my daughter, but I wanted to get proof, so I got Willow to send a DNA sample to Cam. Cam got it yesterday, and tested it against mine. It was a match. I have a sixteen year old daughter.”  
  
Bones was silent as she processed the information. “Who else knows?” she quietly asked.  
  
“Just Cam, Sweets, Willow, and Willow’s friends. I’m telling Parker tonight, Rebecca’s letting me pick him up from school and take him out for dinner. I think he’ll be excited about having a sister, even though she’s almost ten years older than him.”  
  
“Are you going to go and see her?”  
  
“Yes, I’ve applied for leave for the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, so I’ll be flying down on Saturday.”  
  
“Would you like me to go with you?” Bones offered. Booth paused before shaking his head.  
  
“No thanks, Bones. I think the first time it should just be me.”  
  
Bones nodded her head, understanding his point of view. He didn’t want to overwhelm the girl and, apart from the fact that she was Booth’s current work partner, she had no real connection to Booth’s past.   
  
“Do you know what she looks like? Does her facial structure resemble yours?”  
  
“She hasn’t sent me a photo but I asked Sweets about it because I wanted his to analyze the emails from a psychological point of view and he recognized Willow’s surname as the same as some children’s psychologist that writes books and does lectures all over the world. Turns out that this woman is Willow’s adopted mom and Sweets showed me a couple of photos from out of her books. I couldn’t see a resemblance in the more recent photos but in one of them, when she was younger, I think she looked a little bit like Parker. She takes after her mother a lot and I can see my mother in her a little too. Here are the emails that we’ve been sending one another.” Booth passed over a folder with all of the emails printed off and neatly tucked inside. Bones crossed over to her desk and read the emails, spreading them out on the desk. Booth crossed the room and perched on the edge of the couch, watching as Bones read about his daughter.  
  
“She seems to be very polite and well spoken,” Bones observed as she finished reading the last email Booth had received.  
  
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what Sweets said, only he babbled on about it.” Booth shrugged. Sometimes, when Sweets got really into what he was saying, Booth lost track of the conversation, very much like when he was at the Jeffersonian.  
  
“It sounds like Willow babbles a bit.”  
  
Booth shrugged, “I don’t mind it when people babble, as long as they get to the point before they start to babble, or they can be easily be brought back on track.”  
  
Brennan nodded, smiling to herself at making Booth flustered, “I’m happy for you, Booth. You’re a great father and Willow is lucky to have the opportunity to get to know you.”  
  
Booth grinned at Bones, glad that she wasn’t upset with him. “Thanks, Bones,” he said.  
  
BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES  
  
Booth parked his SUV outside Parker’s school, and checked his watch. He had a few minutes before class got out at the end of the day and he instantly pondered on how he was going to break the news to Parker that he had an older half sister. Willow was just over ten years older than Parker and he was sure Parker would be okay with the idea. Booth hoped so, anyway. He had scanned the photos he had of Willow from Sweets’ books and had them folded up in his pocket, just in case Parker wanted to see what his big sister looked like. Booth thought about how he should break the news. Straight to the point, or by beating around the bush, or being humorous about it. Booth settled on being straight to the point, but not too bluntly.   
  
He was drawn from his musing when he heard the school bell ringing. He got out of his car and strode out onto the wide grassed area at the front of the building. It didn’t take long for children to begin spilling out of the building, laughing, smiling, and calling out farewells to their friends and greetings to their parents. Booth felt a pang in his chest at having missed out on doing this with Willow, all the lost opportunities of going to pick her up from school, or going to music recitals, science fairs, or parent teacher conferences, or other important life moments for the little red haired girl. He spotted Parker amongst a crowd, and fought to bring a smile to his face. Parker’s own face lit up when he saw him, a wide smile breaking out across his face.  
  
“Daddy!” Parker called, sprinting across the lawn and throwing himself into Booth’s arms.  
  
“Hey, buddy, how’s it going?”  
  
“Good, Daddy. We did sports today and I kicked a goal in soccer.”  
  
“Great job, Buddy. Did you have fun?”  
  
“Yeah,” Parker enthusiastically replied, letting go of Booth and walking towards the car. Booth walked alongside his son and opened the car door for him. Parker climbed in, putting his school bag down on the seat beside him. Booth passed Parker his seat belt, and watched as the small boy buckled himself in. Satisfied that Parker was safe, Booth got into the drivers seat and started the car, pulling out onto the street.  
  
“Daddy, why did you come and get me. Mommy told me this morning that you wanted to talk to me. Are you going away to fight again?” Parker quietly asked. Booth whipped his head around.  
  
“What? No, buddy, I’m not going away to fight. I’m going away for a couple of days this weekend, but I promise I’ll be back. It’s just a little trip down to California.”  
  
“Are you going with Dr. Bones to catch the bad guys?” Parker asked, perking up a little.   
  
“No, buddy, it’s not a work thing, and Dr. Bones isn’t going to come with me. She’s staying here.”  
  
“Why are you going then?” Parker innocently asked. Booth sighed.   
  
“I’ll explain when we get home, okay, buddy? How does pizza sound for dinner?”  


“Yay!” Parker cheered, distracted by the promise of his favorite treat. Booth smiled privately to himself as he drove towards his apartment. Parker was a typical Booth; the way to his heart was through his stomach.  
  
When they reached Booth’s apartment, Parker raced upstairs, Booth following behind, a wry smile upon his face as he watched his little boy so full of energy. He let them both into his apartment and checked Parker’s bag for any homework. There wasn’t any, so Booth let Parker sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons while he had a quick shower and changed into casual clothes. When he returned to the lounge, Parker was still on the couch, watching the TV contently. Booth checked his watch. He’d initially planned on taking Parker out to his favorite take-out place, but since Parker seemed to be comfortable here, Booth decided to get pizza delivered instead.  
  
“Hey, buddy, did you do anything else interesting at school today, other than soccer?” Booth asked, dropping beside Parker. Parker looked up at him and beamed.  
  
“Yeah, we made popcorn, and then we got to count it, and then we would eat some, and count it again. It was so fun. Then we got to listen to a story and then we got to have art class and we played with the clay, and I made a snake with eyes and a tongue and everything. And then, after lunch, we played soccer, and I kicked a goal, and it was so cool,” Parker babbled. Booth was reminded of the way Willow talked in her emails, often mentioning how she babbles. Obviously babbling was on his side of the family.  
  
“That’s great, bud. I wish I went to your school. You do so much cool stuff.”  
  
“Don’t be silly, you’re too big to go to school, Daddy. Besides, you catch the bad guys, and that’s even cooler than kicking a goal in soccer.” Parker laughed. Booth laughed and ruffled Parker’s hair. Inside, though, he could feel remorse surging through him. He’d missed out on this with Willow, the funny comments, and the moments that Booth swore he would treasure forever. No more, he decided.  
  
“Hey, Parker, I need to tell you something.” Booth said, and Parker cocked his head to the side curiously.  
  
“Is this about why you’re going away?”  
  
“Yeah, buddy, it is. I want you to remember that I’ll always love you, okay?”  
  
Parker’s eyes filled with tears.  
  
“Are you going to die, Daddy? You said you were going to come back.”  
  
Booth pulled Parker into an embrace and held him close. “I’m not going to die, buddy, not on this trip. I promised you I will come back in one piece and I keep my promises, don’t I?”  
  
“I guess,” Parker gloomily admitted, though he didn’t move from his spot in Booth’s arms.  
  
“Hey, bud, I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry, leave all the worrying to the grown ups.”  
  
“Then why were you talking like you weren’t coming back?” Parker asked. Booth sighed.  
  
“Back when I was younger, before I went away to fight in the war, I met a very nice lady. She was the same age as me, and we loved each other very much.”  
  
“Like you and mommy?” Parker asked. Booth cringed slightly.  
  
“Yeah, kind of.”  


“Was she your girlfriend?” Parker asked, a cheeky, sly smile on his face, his tone slightly teasing.  
  
“Yeah, she was. Her name was Carmen. When I went away to fight, I had to leave Carmen behind. I was away for along time, and when I came back I found out that Carmen had died. She was in heaven and I met your mommy. A couple of days ago, I found out that Carmen had a baby about six months after I left, a little girl. Parker, she’s your big sister.”  
  
“I have a big sister? What’s her name? How old is she? Does she look like me? When can I meet her? Does she know about me?” Parker excitedly asked, firing off one question after another. Booth laughed and held Parker close.  
  
“Slow down, buddy. Yeah, you do have a big sister. Her name is Willow, and she’s sixteen years old, ten years older than you. She has red hair and green eyes. She lives in a place called Sunnydale, in California, with her adoptive parents. She likes science and computers, and likes going to school. I don’t know when you’ll get to see her, but I’m going to ask if she wants to come and visit at Christmas time. Does that sound okay, Parks?”   
  
Parker nodded enthusiastically, “Are you going to go and visit her this weekend?” he asked.  
  
“Yeah, just to get to know her, though, and to tell her that she has a younger brother. I’ve only been emailing her so far.”  
  
“Can I come with you, Daddy?” Parker brightly asked, smiling his best charming smile and using his puppy dog eyes on his father.   
  
“Maybe next time, Buddy.”  


“Aww, Daddy,” Parker whined. Booth shook his head.  
  
“We don’t want to scare her, Parker. I would like to spend a little bit of time with her with just the two of us, and then you can see her, okay?”  
  
“Okay, Daddy,” Parker sighed.  
  
“Hey, Parks, you’re still my little bud, you know that. I still love you heaps. Willow hasn’t changed the way I feel about you. I love you, bud.”  
  
“I love you too, Daddy.” Parker smiled, hugging Booth tightly. Booth smiled and hugged Parker tightly in response, grateful for the fact that he hadn’t missed out on all the cute moments with Parker, as he had with Willow.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note regarding the timing of the series. It is set in 2007, with Willow being Sixteen (early season 2 for Buffy, before the Angelus fiasco, Probably just after Halloween.) and Parker being 6 (Booth commented in one episode of Bones that Parker was born Just before September 11 2001.) I'm setting it in early season three of Bones, because then Zach is still in it.


	13. Chapter 13

Booth leaned back in his office chair, his email program open on his computer screen. He exhaled slowly, considering what he was going to type, before he lowered his hands to the keyboard.  
  
_Dear Willow,_  
  
This weekend sounds great; I’m looking forward to meeting you so much. I have arranged a ticket for a plane that will land at L.A. airport at about 1:00 in the afternoon on Saturday. I’m sorry for the lack of warning, but, like I motioned earlier, I’m really looking forward to meeting you at last.   
  
It feels like we’ve been emailing for ages but it’s only been a week. I’m glad you enjoyed my Star Wars joke. You seemed like the kind of person to get that kind of thing.   
  
I was sad to read that your parents were away so much and that you were left alone so much when you were younger, but I was glad that they still look out for you financially at least. In my line of work, you see a lot of bad stuff.  
  
I’m glad that you do lots of things with your friends It’s important that you don’t bury yourself in study too much and have the chance to get out and do fun stuff with your friends. On the same note, you need to be responsible and look out for yourself and your friends, but you sound very responsible.   
  
I hope to hear from you soon. I look forward to seeing you on the weekend.  
  
From your dad.  
  
Hitting the send button, Booth leaned back in his chair again and rubbed his hands over his face nervously.  
  
BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES  
  
As the week drew on, Willow felt increasingly nervous as the time of her father’s arrival in Sunnydale drew close. The other Scoobies watched as Willow obsessively cleaned, both her room at Buffy’s house, which she was still staying at, and the Rosenberg residence. Her already near-perfect behaviour in class improved to a point that it was practically faultless.   
  
The others knew that Willow was doing it because she wanted to make a good impression on the FBI agent when he arrived on Saturday. Eventually, Buffy took Willow aside, sitting her down on the floor up in the stacks during lunchtime, before sitting down beside her.  
  
“What’s wrong, Wills?”  
  
“Nothing’s wrong, Buffy. Why should anything be wrong?” Willow smiled brightly but Buffy could tell that it was fake.  
  
“Willow, relax, it’s just me. You don’t have to pretend, not with me.”  
  
Willow’s face fell and her eyes filled with tears.  
  
“I’m scared, Buffy. What if he doesn’t like me? All my life, I’ve known that my parents didn’t care and, ever since I found out that they weren’t my real parents, I’ve been hoping that my real parents, you know, would really care about me, maybe even love me. Love me the way your mom loves you and, now that I know he’s coming, I’m scared that he won’t,” Willow babbled, her tears running down her cheeks. Buffy immediately pulled Willow into an embrace.  
  
“Aw, Wills, it’ll be okay. I’m sure your dad will love you. You’re sweet and kind, and smart, and you’re really helpful when fighting the forces of evil. What’s not to love? Your adopted parents are just too stupid to see it.”   
  
Willow sobbed into Buffy’s shirt, leaving wet marks in the material, as Buffy rubbed her shoulders.  
  
“Thanks, Buffy,” Willow quietly whispered once she had a semblance of control over herself.  
  
“Its okay, Wills. What are friends for?” Buffy asked.   
  
Willow smiled and shifted out of Buffy’s embrace.  
  
“I got your shirt all wet,” Willow said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Buffy rolled her eyes and grinned.  
  
“Willow, it’s okay. Snap out of it.”  
  
“Right. Sorry, Buffy.” Willow grinned, blinking, and retuning to her usual bubbly self. The bell rang overhead and the two girls got up and left the stacks, picking up their bags and waving to Giles. Willow headed off to her computer class while Buffy walked towards PE.   
  
“This guy better be worth it. Otherwise, I’m going to have to reconsider the whole ‘thou shall not kill humans’ Slayer rule, resemblance to Angel or not,” Buffy muttered to herself as she walked down the corridor.   
  
BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES  
  
Booth was becoming increasingly nervous as the week drew on. Although nothing much fazed him when he was out on the field, except when Bones or his family or friends were in danger, the idea of going to California to meet his sixteen year old daughter that, up until last week, he didn’t even know existed frankly terrified him.  
  
“It’s completely rational to be scared,” Bones had told him one morning as they went to their new crime scene. “I mean, you’re fearful that she will reject you or that she won’t let you be involved in her life.”  
  
“Bones, this really isn’t helping. Besides, I thought you didn’t believe in psychology.”  
  
“I don’t. It is an imprecise form of science but I do believe that you are scared that she will hate you for abandoning her mother to go and fight and won’t want anything to do with you,” Bones replied seriously.  
  
“Come on, Bones. If you were in this situation, you would be scared too, wouldn’t you? On second thought, don’t answer that question.”  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”   
  
“I just meant that you’re a rational kind of person and, like you said, feeling this way is irrational.”  
  
“Ah ha. So you admit that you are scared.” Brennan grinned triumphantly, pointing at Booth, who smiled slightly at her reaction.  
  
“And I got you to smile,” she added, moving closer to him, her voice softening.  
  
“Bones…” Booth began.  
  
“It will be fine, Booth, I’m sure. Besides, she is the one who grew up mostly without a parental figure. I’m sure she will love having you around, someone who cares about her like a parent should,” Bones interrupted.  
  
Booth sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest of the driver’s seat.  
  
“When are you going to tell the others?” Brennan asked.  
  
“Before I leave to go and meet her, it’ll just be Hodgins, Angela and Zach that I need to tell. That’s going to be an interesting conversation.”  
  
“How did Parker take it?” Bones asked. Booth smiled.  
  
“He was good with it, actually. He wanted to come with me on the weekend when I go and meet her. Rebecca wasn’t too happy about it though, but she said that once I’ve spent some more time with her, Parker can come with me to go and visit.”  
  
“That’s good that Parker was excited by the idea.”  
  
“I know, I mean, he doesn’t have any relatives anywhere near his age. I mean, Rebecca’s got a sister but she doesn’t have any kids, and on my side, other than Willow, he’s the only one. Willow is ten years older but at least that’s a lot closer than anyone else in the family.”  
  
“Have you told Jared yet?” Bones asked. Booth shook his head.  
  
”No, that’s another conversation I’m not looking forward to.”  
  
“Why is that?”  
  
“Because I was always the one telling him to be careful, use protection, don’t do one night stands, to be responsible, and yet I’m the one that fathered a kid when I was eighteen. He’s never going to let me forget it.”  
  
“Booth, you were in a long term relationship with Willow’s mother. It wasn’t like it was a one night stand. The same with Rebecca,” Bones argued. Booth shrugged, conceding she had a valid point.  
  
“I don’t think Jared’s going to see it that way, though,” Booth commented as he pulled up the SUV at the crime scene and killed the engine. Bones sighed and got out of the car, ending the conversation.  
  
BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES  
  
Booth strode into Brennan’s office where he had arranged to meet the squints. Angela and Hodgins were sharing the couch and Zach was talking to Bones about the case, the younger Forensic Anthropologist’s usually robotic face showing his excitement at his discovery. Cam and Sweets stood in a corner, obviously talking about something that they didn’t want the others to know about. Booth was going to guess it was about Willow.  
  
“Booth, man, what’s this about?” Hodgins asked curiously.  
  
“It’s not about the case, is it?” Angela added.  
  
“No, it’s not about the case,” Booth said, closing the door so no one outside could hear what he said.  
  
“What’s with the secrecy?” Hodgins eyes lit up at the barest hint of a conspiracy theory.  
  
“I found out a week ago that I have a daughter,” Booth said bluntly. There was a stunned silence in the room and Sweets had to stifle his laughter — he’d never seen Angela, Hodgins or Zach stunned speechless like that before.  
  
“Way to go, Booth.” Hodgins smirked, the first to recover.  
  
“Aww, cute. How old is she?” Angela asked.  
  
“Sixteen. She’s in her junior year at high school.”  
  
“Whoa, dude, that must mean you were what, seventeen, eighteen, when she was born? Nice work.” Hodgins grinned.  
  
“I was nineteen when she was born and I was overseas in the Army.”  
  
“What happened to her mother?” queried Angela. Booth swallowed his emotions.  
  
“She… she died, not long after. She gave the baby up for adoption and went into hiding. She was the same age as me.”  
  
“Aww, I’m sorry, Booth. What’s her name, your daughter’s?” Angela asked   
  
“Willow. Willow Danielle Rosenberg.”  


“That’s sweet.”  
  
“Where does she live? Have you met her yet?” Zach nervously asked.  
  
Booth shook his head at Zach’s cautiousness, knowing that the youngest of the squints was scared of him. “She grew up in a town called Sunnydale, in California. I’m going to meet her this weekend.”  
  
“Who knows?” Sweets asked this question.   
  
“You guys, Parker, Rebecca, and Assistant Director Cullen. I’ve been emailing Willow ever since she told me about it and she’s been talking to her friends about it, so they know.”  
  
“How did she take it?” Angela asked. Booth shrugged.  
  
“She was the one who found me but I think she’s pretty open to the idea.”  
  
“Did she know she was adopted before she found you?” Zach asked curiously.  
  
“She found out a few weeks before she found me and sent me an email.”  
  
“Wow, she must be brave. A lot of kids wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Angela said with a smile  
  
“She has Booth for an old man, that’s probably where it comes from,” Hodgins said with a chuckle.  
  
Booth hid his grin at Hodgins’ comment, but the smile was wiped from his face when Zach spoke up.  
  
“How did Willow find out how to get in contact with you? I thought that your work email was highly protected, so only people with clearance could email you. How did Willow find out without clearance?” he asked.

 

Bones nodded, “That’s a good question, Zach. I’ve been considering the same question.”   
  
“Maybe she knows someone within the FBI and they told her how to contact you?” Cam suggested. Booth shook his head.  
  
“I don’t know anyone stationed in California at the moment. Besides, she’s only sixteen years old. She shouldn’t know anyone at the FBI well enough to ask if they knew how to contact her biological father.”   
  
“Well, in her emails, it did indicate that she enjoyed working with computers,” Brennan said thoughtfully. A stunned silence met that comment as they all realized what Brennan was inferring.  
  
"Dude. Your 16 year old daughter hacked the FBI. She is my idol. Can you introduce us?" Hodgins said with a broad grin.  



	14. Chapter 14

Willow was almost bouncing up and down with nervous energy as she, Giles and Xander stood in the arrivals area of the airport, waiting for Booth’s plane. Giles had volunteered to drive Willow to LA in order to collect the FBI agent from the airport and Xander had come along, eager to catch his first glimpse of Willow’s dad and to see if he looked as much like Angel in real life as his picture did.   
  
Giles and Xander watched as Willow bounced.  
  
“Please tell me you did not give her coffee,” Giles dryly said, taking his glasses off to polish them. Xander rolled her eyes.  
  
“Of course not. I may not get Willow-standard grades but I’m not that stupid. Hey, Willow, who gave you coffee?”  
  
“I haven’t had any coffee,” Willow protested, “I’m just nervous. Why is it that every time I’m nervous, people ask me if I’ve had coffee? I mean, am I not allowed to nervous because, hey, this is the United States. It’s a free country. People are allowed to be as nervous as they like. I live on a Hellmouth, nervousness tends to keep people alive. And what about terrorists? Everyone is nervous about them these days, so why aren’t I allowed to be nervous about meeting my dad for the first time in my life?” Willow babbled almost too fast for Xander and Giles to understand, which said a lot, considering Xander always could understand Willow, especially when she was babbling.   
  
“Did she breathe once through that speech?” Xander asked.

Giles shook his head, “No, I don’t think she did.”  
  
“You done, Willow?” Xander asked gently.   
  
Willow nodded. “I feel better now.” She shyly smiled. Xander pulled her into a warm hug.  
  
“You’re going to be fine, Will,” Xander reassured.   
  
“Why does everyone keep saying that to me?” Willow mumbled into Xander’s jacket.  
  
“Because it’s true,” he replied.  
  
Overhead, the speakers announced that the flight from Washington DC had landed. Willow snuggled closer to Xander and he held her tighter.  
  
“It’s okay, Willow,” he murmured into her ear. Willow nodded before pulling away, watching and waiting for people to start coming through baggage claim. Willow had no way of telling when the people from her father’s flight started coming through. Giles held a sign with the FBI agent’s name on it, although they all knew what he looked like. Then Willow felt her breathing catch as she saw him emerge, duffel bag slung over one shoulder.  
  
“Congratulations, Willow, your dad just came first in a brood boy freakish look-alike competition.” Xander smirked as Agent Booth spotted them and began to walk over.   
  
Seeing that Willow had appeared to freeze up at the sight of her father, Giles stepped forward.  
  
“Rupert Giles. Special Agent Booth, I presume.”  
  
“Yeah,” Booth replied, his eyes fixed on Willow, taking her in.   
  
“Welcome to California, Agent Booth. I am the librarian at Willow’s high school and I am also in charge of the study group she and her friends are in. She asked that I drive her to the airport today.”  
  
Booth glanced at Giles, nodding. “Nice to meet you. Willow’s told me a lot about you.”  
  
Willow shook her head, coming out of her temporary mind-freeze.  
  
“Hi,” she squeaked.  
  
“Hey, Willow, nice to meet you face-to-face at last.”  


“Yeah. This is one of my best friends, Xander.”   
  
“Hey.”  
  
“Hi,” Xander replied shortly, studying Booth intently with distrust evident on his face. Willow discreetly elbowed him in the stomach.  
  
“Have a nice flight?” Xander continued, deciding that he’d be nice for Willow’s sake.  
  
“Not too bad.”  
  
“Do you have everything you need to collect?” Giles asked. Booth nodded his head.  
  
“Alright then, we should get back to Sunnydale. It is a long drive back and I would like to be back before sunset.”  
  
Willow walked beside her father as they followed Giles and Xander out of the airport.  
  
“Have you been to California before?” Willow asked.   
  
Booth nodded. “Yeah, a couple of times. Have you ever been to Washington before?”  
  
Willow shook her head. “I’ve never been out of California. My parents... Well, you know, the Rosenbergs didn’t like taking me with them when they went away.”   
  
Booth frowned at that piece of news. Parker had traveled more with him than Willow ever had with her parents and he didn’t even have sole custody. Heck, depending on how this trip went, he was considering bringing Parker with him the next time he visited.  
  
Willow ducked her head and hid her face behind her curtain of red hair as they walked through the parking garage, her nervous returning full blast. Xander noticed the gesture and sighed. This wasn’t awkward at all, was it?  
  
“So, Agent Booth, what do you have planned for your trip?’ he asked conversationally, trying to break the ice and slight tension that crackled in the air around them.  
  
“I would like to get to know Willow and to meet some of her friends,” Booth replied honestly, still debating whether or not he liked the dark-haired boy. Xander nodded, accepting the answer. They were silent until they reached Giles’ car. Giles opened up the trunk for Booth’s bag, grateful that he’d cleared out all the weaponry that usually took up residence in his car. He had a feeling that the discovery of a large amount of weaponry by the FBI agent would put a dampener on the meeting between father and daughter, even though the weaponry was all legal and registered with the government.   
  
Willow and Xander climbed into the back seat while Giles and Booth sat in the front seats. Giles started the car and headed of the car park exit.  
  
“What kinds of cases do you work on, Agent Booth? Willow’s never said what area of the FBI you work in.” Giles asked politely as they drove out of the car park and out onto the highway.   
  
“I investigate homicides. Mainly ones where the remains have had some amount of damage,” Booth replied, not going into much detail, “I work closely with a forensic anthropologist and her team at the Jeffersonian Institute in D.C.”  
  
“Cool,” Xander commented from the back seat before he turned to Willow. “What’s a forensic anthropologist?” he whispered. Booth heard the question and grinned. Few people knew just from her job title what it was she actually did.  
  
“Someone who studies the bones of people who have died to find out how they died, what their lives were like, who they were and, if they were murdered, who did it,” Willow quietly explained to Xander. In the front seat, Booth was quietly impressed at the accuracy of her response, even though he had mentioned it in an email. She probably had already known. His daughter was obviously just a little bit Squinty.  
  
And he was proud of it.


	15. Chapter 15

Giles dropped Booth and Willow off at her parents’ house and she led the FBI agent to the front door.

 

“Your parents aren’t going to mind me staying here?” Booth asked. Willow smiled and shook her head.

 

“No, they don’t know. They’re in Paris at the moment, lecturing at Notre Dame, so I don’t think they’re going to find out.”

 

Willow opened up the door and let them in, leaving her invitation unspoken, just in case. Booth stepped over the threshold easily, so Willow relaxed marginally. She led him up the stairs and showed him the guest room, pointing out the kitchen, the lounge room, her bedroom and the bathroom along the way, before she left him in the room and went down to the kitchen to boil some water for coffee.

 

Booth glanced around the house. Although it was pleasantly warm outside, the house felt cold to him and unlived-in. Although there were plenty of ornaments and paintings hanging on the walls, there were no personal touches, no photos that decorated the walls or tables, no mother’s or father’s day gifts that had been made by Willow when she was younger. There was nothing unique about the house and Booth found it slightly unnerving.

 

He went back downstairs, having left his bags up in his room, and found Willow in the kitchen.

 

“Would you like something to drink?’ she asked.

 

“Coffee is fine,” Booth said and Willow quickly made up the drink. Then she led him into the lounge room.

 

“So, what would you like to talk about?” Willow nervously asked.

 

Booth took a sip off his coffee and bit his lip. “You have a younger brother,” he told her. “His name is Parker and he’s six years old. I have joint custody of him with his mother and he comes and visits me sometimes on weekends.”

 

Willow smiled happily. “What’s he like? Does he look like you? What about his mom? Does he know about me? Does he want to see me? Does he hate me for stealing his Dad? You weren’t supposed to have him this weekend, were you? Wow, I’ve got a little brother. That means I’m the only Scooby with a sibling, unless Giles has a brother or sister, but then he never mentioned having one. Of course, Angel had a little sister, but yeah...”

 

Willow faded off when she saw the look on Booth’s face. His mouth hung slightly open, as if he was in shock.

 

“Um, yeah, did I mention that I babble?” Willow grinned sheepishly.

 

Booth laughed. “I get what you mean now. Did you even breathe during that?”

 

Willow smiled shyly, shook her head and Booth chuckled.

 

“In answer to your questions, or as many of them as I can remember, Parker likes sports, especially soccer and playing catch. He likes science and loves going to the Jeffersonian. He looks a little bit like me but he takes a bit after his mom as well. Here, I have a photo of him.” Booth took a photo out of his pocket and gave it to Willow. Parker had picked out the photo himself, insisting that ‘Daddy gave it to Willow so she knows what I look like.’

 

“Aw, he’s so cute. He looks like you, I think.”

 

“I don’t know, I saw the photo of you in one of your mother’s books when you were about his age, and I think he looks a bit like you. He’s very excited about having a big sister and he really wants to see you at some point, whether it means him coming here or you coming to visit me at some point, if you want to. I just thought this first time it would be better for it to be just me coming to see you. He doesn’t hate you for taking me away and no, next weekend is when I have him when we’ll do Thanksgiving together.”

 

“Oh, that’s okay then. I wouldn’t want to cut into his time with you because little boys need lots of bonding time with their dads and, since you don’t get to see him very often, it wouldn’t be good for him to miss out but it’s not an issue, so it doesn’t really matter… and I’m babbling again. Sorry, I’m kind of nervous. I’ve never done this before. You know, talked to my dad for the first time. Well, technically, it’s the second time but I was, like, one the first time so it doesn’t really count.”

 

Booth grinned at Willow’s babble. While when Sweets did it he found it annoying and Bones’ babble was completely different, Willow’s babbling was endearing and kind of cute at the same time.

 

“Its okay, Willow,” he reassured her. “I can understand this is scary for you. I’m kind of scared too. I’ve never done this before either. I mean, Parker’s always known that I was his dad. I’ve always been there for him.”

 

“So, this whole being a newbie thing is mutual, huh?” Willow asked, smiling slightly, and Booth laughed.

 

“Yeah, it is.”

 

The two fell into a silence. Booth continued to look around the room curiously and Willow was keenly studying her slightly battered shoes.

 

“So, you said that Parker likes going to the Jeffersonian? What part? I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s cool.”

 

“The team of squints… scientists… that I work with, including Dr. Brennan, all work there in the forensics lab. Dr. Brennan is a forensic anthropologist, like you heard back in the car, and Cam is the team leader, even though everyone knows that it’s Bones - sorry, Dr. Brennan - who is the boss. Cam is a pathologist. Then there’s Dr. Hodgins, he’s a little strange. He’s an entomologist.”

 

“What’s that?” Willow asked.

 

“Bugs and dirt, basically. He can tell how long someone’s been dead by what insects we found in and around them.”

 

“Oh, that’s good.” Willow paled slightly.

 

“Yeah, and then there’s Angela. She works with computers to do facial reconstruction and can help us ID murder victims when there’s no fingerprints we can use or dental records or something like that. She also does recreations on the computer of murder scenes, so we can figure out how people have died and helps us narrow down the suspects. Then there’s the mini-squints. Zach is Dr. Brennan’s assistant. He’s a bit freaky, highly intelligent, but a bit freaky. Sweets is a psychologist at the FBI with me and he sometimes helps out on cases. Sometimes, when I have to do work-related things there or we have a case when I have Parker, I’ll take him with me and one of the interns will show him around or he’ll get to do experiments or something artistic with Angela. He loves it, though I think he likes Hodgins a little bit too much. Hodgins likes to make things explode and, well, little kids like things that explode.”

 

Willow laughed. “It sounds like a great place.”

 

“You should come and visit some time. How much time do you have off school at Christmas?”

 

“Three weeks. I finish on the 23rd of December and I go back mid January. Why?”

 

“Do you want to come and visit? Parker’s longing to meet you and so are Bones and Cam and the rest of the squints. I don’t know if you do anything with your family here or anything, but it was just an idea.”

 

Willow smiled and shook her head. “My parents aren’t big on Christmas. I was raised Jewish, so it was never a big thing. Most of the time they’re away anyway, so I don’t see why it should be a problem.”

 

“You’re Jewish?” Booth fought to keep his face neutral at the news.

 

_‘Grow up, Seeley. You seriously didn’t think that she would be Catholic like you, did you, even though you’ve had no influence over her at all in her entire life?’_

 

“Yeah, not really practicing though. I mean, I still watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special with Xander every year and I don’t keep track of whether or not what I eat is kosher. My father lets me make my own choices about that. I kind of merge Christmas and Hanukkah into one big thing.”

 

“Oh, right then, so coming and celebrating Christmas with me and Parker won’t be a problem, even though I’m Catholic?”

 

Willow quickly shook her head. “No, no problem at all. I’m open to people having their own beliefs.”

 

“Great. Do you know when your parents are coming back? They need to say if it’s okay or not, because you’re still underage.”

 

“The end of January. They left in early November, so it’s only been a short trip, but they’re off again by March for a longer one that will carry them through to when I start back at school after the summer break, but i know how to contact them and ask if i can go.”

 

“And you’re here by yourself when they’re gone?” Seeley asked, concern slipping into his voice as his protective instincts began to surge.

 

“Sometimes, but a lot of the time I go and stay with Buffy or Xander, so I’m not on my own, because it can get a bit scary in Sunnydale sometimes. Mrs. Summers is like my second mom, she’s great. And Giles, he’s really good too. He’s like my second dad… or, well, third, technically. You know what I mean.”

 

Booth paused. He’d watched the way the older Englishman had watched Xander and Willow at the airport and during the drive coming home and, although initially he’d been disturbed by the idea of the high school librarian taking so much interest in his students’ lives outside of school, Booth had begun to realize that for Willow at least, and probably for Xander and their friend Buffy, he was the only suitable male role model they had and Giles in turn looked at the trio as being his own son and daughters.

 

Booth didn’t object to the bond between Giles and his daughter. Giles was an excellent role model, judging from the little bit of time that they’d spent together, and Booth appreciated the connection Giles and Willow had over their shared interest in academics and books, a connection that Booth would be the first to admit he and his daughter would never share.

 

Willow and Bones on the other hand were a going to be a completely different story. Booth grinned at the idea of Bones meeting Willow. Maybe he could take Willow to the Jeffersonian Christmas party and introduce her to the squints then? It would work and would introduce Willow to the usually case-focused team in a social setting, which might prove to be better for everyone.

 

Although, when he thought of the likelihood that Angela would decide to mount the photocopier and photocopy her bare butt, maybe an introduction when all parties involved were sober would be better.


	16. Chapter 16

That evening Willow cooked dinner for her and her dad before they sat down together at the couch and ate. Once they had finished eating, Willow pulled out the photo albums of her growing up and shyly placed it in front of Booth. Booth flicked the book open and felt his heart melt at the picture of baby Willow that graced the front cover. She was obviously a newborn, only a few days old, if that. Already, tufts of red hair stuck out from the sleeping infant’s head and her fingers curled around the blanket she was wrapped in. In the corner of the page was a birth announcement, obviously cut from a newspaper.

 

_Sheila and Ira Rosenberg are pleased to announce the arrival of the new addition to their household: Willow Danielle Rosenberg, born on the 7th of October, 1991, weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces._

Willow had been a lot smaller than Parker had been when they’d been born, but then Booth guessed that eating well might not have been a high priority for Carmen when she’d been running away from home and struggling to find a roof over her head. Rebecca had been very well-looked after throughout her pregnancy by comparison.

 

Booth opened the next page and saw photos of various people holding baby Willow, including Ira and Sheila as well as people that he didn’t know. Willow pointed out her grandparents and her great-aunt, who had all died during her childhood.

 

As the pages were turned, the baby in the photo grew up, usually alone doing something cute. The photos were captioned and Booth saw photos that were supposedly Willow crawling for the first time, standing supported for the first time, taking her first steps. Her first birthday was heavily documented with cards tucked into the book securely.

 

The photos continued on into Willow’s second year of life, thinning a little from the first year but still plentiful. Willow looked a lot like Parker when they were both younger with the obvious exception of her hair and eye color.

 

With each page that Booth turned, the photos of Willow showed how she grew up into a little girl. There was a photo of her and her parents on the first day of kindergarten and the next photo, obviously taken at the school, featured Willow and a little boy coloring together, smiling happily.

 

“That’s me and Xander. He’s been my best friend ever since my first day of kindergarten.”

 

“It’s a long time. I’m glad he’s been such a good friend for you.”

 

“He’s… he’s always been there,” Willow said. “Buffy’s always been there too, for as long as I’ve known her, but I haven’t known her for as long as I have Xander.”

 

“How old were you here?” Booth asked, looking at the next photo, one of Willow sitting on a slide.

 

“I was four. I started a year early because my parents thought I needed the interactions with other children and I was smart enough to start my education. I was already able to read basic words then. I was counting well and I was writing a little.”

 

Booth smiled, proud of his daughter’s early achievements in an academic environment.

 

“I guess that explains why you’re a little younger than the other kids in your year level.”

 

“Yeah, Xander’s a full year older than me and Cordelia’s birthday is next week, so there’s 11 months between us. Buffy’s birthday is in January though, so it’s not so bad, and Angel, um, we’ve never heard when his birthday is but he doesn’t’t really celebrate it. And, well, he’s a bit older than us anyway.”

 

Booth frowned. “How much older?”

 

“Um, er, I think he’s maybe in his early twenties, but it’s okay though, because he and Buffy aren’t’t doing anything, um, kinky. Yep, no kink or naughty no-clothes time for Angel and Buffy. He’s very responsible and he doesn’t’t act like he’s that much older. He’s kind of quiet and he broods a bit. A lot, maybe. He’s really cool though, and he looks out for us, he’s like my big brother. And I’m babbling. I’ll stop now.”

 

Booth quirked an eyebrow and for a split moment, Willow thought she was talking to Angel, except the windows were open and there was light falling across her father’s face.

 

“You look a lot like him though. My friends all think it’s kind of freaky. Buffy’s a little disturbed by the fact that me and her boyfriend could be related, not that that’s a bad thing or anything.”          

 

Booth chuckled as Willow went red as she realized she’d been babbling again. Sure, it was annoying when Sweets or Zach did it and it was kind of hot when Bones did it, when it wasn’t confusing, but when Willow babbled it was cute.   It was like she was having all these thoughts she wanted to say but her mouth couldn’t keep up with her mind and it all came out in one massive word mass. Booth wondered if Willow had developed gills or something, because when she babbled she didn’t’t stop for a menial thing like breathing.

 

“How do you do that?” He chuckled. Willow grinned shyly.

 

“Practice, lots and lots of practice,” she replied.

 

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

 

Willow woke up with a happy sigh. The previous night had gone well. She and her dad had looked over her photo albums and just talked before watching a movie together and then going to bed.

 

She was surprised at how calm she’d felt in his presence, as if she subconsciously felt safe with him. Willow thought it was weird; there was no way she should feel safe with Booth just because he was her biological father. Being related by blood didn’t mean anything; if what Tony Harris had done to Xander when they’d been younger was anything to go by, so Willow couldn’t explain it.

 

Sighing contentedly, Willow rolled over and looked at her clock. 8:00, time to get up. She was going to make breakfast. She got up and went into her private bathroom, having a quick shower and brushing her hair before she quickly dressed and hurried downstairs.

 

Booth was already up, drinking a cup of coffee and flicking through a newspaper. Willow smiled when she spotted him.

 

“Hi, did you sleep well?”

 

“Very, did you?”

 

“Yeah, I think I was kind of tired. Do you want some breakfast? I can make pancakes.”

 

Booth smiled and nodded. “Sounds great. Do you want my help?”

 

“No thanks.” Willow smiled. “I’ll be okay.”

 

Booth nodded. “Just give me a yell if you need something.”

 

“Okay.” Willow gathered together the ingredient to make pancakes and decided to make chocolate chip ones. They were Xander’s favorite and she had a feeling Booth would like them. As she mixed up the mixture, she glanced across at Booth and wondered what was going through her father’s head.

 

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

 

Booth flicked through the paper, having read everything that really interested him. He shot a sideways glance at Willow. She looked happy, going through the motions of making pancakes. He’d had fun the previous night, spending time getting to know his daughter. She was so sweet and innocent and she seemed to be so naïve on the surface, but once he had spent time with her, Booth could pick out the haunted look in her eyes, the little startled movements when a branch creaked outside that told him that she was quite aware of the highly dangerous nature of Sunnydale.

 

Booth turned back to the newspaper, looking at the bereavement index and the obituaries. It was a daily paper and yet there were so many people listed; a lot of them young people. The majority were under 25. It was wrong on so many levels. People whose lives ended before they even had a chance of starting.

 

Looking at the ages and considering the size of Sunnydale, Willow would be lucky to finish high school, let alone college.

 

Booth looked back up at his daughter, standing at the stove expertly flipping the pancakes. He knew that he didn’t’t have the right to take Willow back to Washington with him, not without her parent’s consent anyway. When Carmen had given Willow up, she’d signed over their rights as her parents and Booth doubted that Ira and Sheila Rosenberg would sign their daughter over to anyone on a permanent basis. It was going to be tricky enough to convince them to let Willow come and stay with him over Christmas.    

 

And she was happy here. He’d seen it yesterday when she was with Xander and Giles. She was happy with them and whenever she’d mentioned her friends the previous night when they’d been looking at photos, she’d sounded so happy with them. Even though Ira and Sheila were so often away, Willow had built herself a family with her friends and their families.

 

Booth thought about Willow’s friend Angel. Although she’d prepared him for the resemblance, he didn’t’t realize how uncanny it was. He’d looked at the photo of Angel and Buffy taken at the Spring Fling dance a few months ago and choked on his drink of soda that Willow had given him. Yeah, he looked a little older now and he was more tanned than the younger man but other than that, there was virtually no difference between them. Willow had reassured him that he was much more cheerful than the broody Angel, though.

 

Even with Angel, though, Willow had obviously formed a friendship. She’d likened him to her protective big brother.

 

“Are you ready?” Willow’s voice drew him from his musings and Booth nodded, smiling when Willow put a plate with chocolate chip pancakes stacked on it in front of him. Booth smiled when the smell wafted up at him from the food and his stomach rumbled.

 

“They look great. Smell good too.”

 

“Thanks.” Willow smiled, putting a little syrup onto her pancakes before passing the bottle to Booth, who did the same. Then they both tucked in.

 

Booth hadn’t realized how hungry he was.    

 

“These are great. If you come and visit at some point and Parker’s there, we should make them. He’d love these.”

 

“I always used to make these when Xander used to sleep over. He loves them but then, Xander loves anything with chocolate in it. I do too, but he’s got a big sweet tooth.”

 

Booth chuckled. “Willow, that’s nothing different. Most guys have a big sweet tooth. It’s one of the few things most of us have in common.”

 

Willow giggled. “Oh, that explains it then. I never understood how he ate so much. When we were younger, I tried to beat him in an eating contest and I threw up. He was nice and held my hair back for me though.” She grimaced at the memory. Jesse had dared her to take Xander on and had refused to help her afterwards. It was one of the few times Xander and Jesse had fought over the long years of friendship.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Booth asked, concerned as Willow seemed to phase out a little. She shook her head.

 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just got lost in the memories. They were good times back then.”

 

Booth couldn’t’t help but laugh. Maybe he hadn’t missed out completely when it came to Willow saying cute things.

 

“You’re making me feel old. When you say old things and me being your dad, it makes me feel older.”

 

Willow laughed, seeing his logic. “Sorry.” She grinned, managing to settle herself down.

 

They finished their breakfast off and Booth helped Willow clean up before he stretched his back.

 

“So, what do you want to do now?” Willow asked just before a soft knocking on the door made her smile.

 

She glanced at her watch. It was 9:30. Buffy had exceeded her expectations. She’d been expecting the petite blonde an hour ago, eager to meet Booth. Willow would be willing to bet that Xander had called Buffy up last night full of things to tell her about Agent Booth.

 

“I’m pretty sure that’s my friend Buffy. She’s been really eager to meet you,” Willow said with a cringe. This was going to be so embarrassing. Booth was smiling at her encouragingly.

 

“Um, I’ll just go get the door then,” she babbled before running to the door. She opened it.

 

“Hi, Buffy.”


	17. Chapter 17

Buffy was virtually bouncing up and down on the spot excitedly on the front doorstep of Willow’s house.

 

“Hey, Willow. Is now a good time to meet your dad? Because if not, then I can so totally come back later. Xander said it was like being around Angel, except they were kind of different, other the whole one being undead and the other being alive difference.”

 

Willow grinned and stepped aside, allowing Buffy into the house.

 

“You just missed breakfast,” Willow said as she closed the front door after Buffy walked through.

 

“Did you make chocolate chip pancakes?” Buffy asked.

 

Willow nodded happily.

 

“Oh, monkey poop.” Buffy sighed. “They’re my favourites.”

 

“I’ll give your mom the recipe.” Willow laughed. Buffy brightened up as they entered the kitchen. Buffy took one look at Booth before coughing.

 

“Okay, that’s very freaky.”

 

Willow was still smiling. “Buffy, this is my dad, Special Agent Booth. Dad, this is my friend Buffy.”

 

Buffy was still absorbed in studying Booth, searching for differences between him and Angel, while Booth was still in shock that Willow had just called him Dad, so it took a few moments before anything more was said.

 

“Hi, um, nice to meet another friend of Willow’s. She said a lot about you in her emails,” Booth said, offering Buffy his hand.

 

Buffy shook it, “She’s told me a lot about you too. Especially that you looked kind of, no, a LOT like a slightly older version of my boyfriend, which you do, and Xander said it was a little weird and that it gave him a wiggins. I though he was just being anti-Angel but, wow, he was so right. Is there someone who looks like me, only older where you live? Maybe you’re from the future or an alternative reality?” Buffy babbled.

 

“Buffy, should I feel threatened in my role of chief babbler?” Willow interrupted, cutting off Buffy’s speech before the Slayer said something that she shouldn’t’t have. Buffy coughed in embarrassment and took a deep breath.

 

“Right, sorry about that. How have you been finding Sunnydale?” Buffy asked, regaining her composure. Booth quirked an eyebrow (in a way that automatically reminded the girls of Angel when the vampire was confused) and nodded.

 

“It’s a nice town. Nice and small and it’s got lots of parks and stuff. You must have spent a lot of time out at the parks when you were younger?” Booth asked Willow, who nodded brightly.

 

“Yep, all the time, well, during the day anyway. Not at night-time, because little kids shouldn’t’t be outside at night time,” Willow said. “Oh, can I tell Buffy about Parker?”

 

Booth nodded and Willow gave a girlish, entirely out of character squeal and turned to face Buffy.

  
“Buffy, guess what!”

 

“What, who’s Parker?” Buffy glanced from Booth to Willow curiously.

 

“He is my really, really cute little half-brother. His name is Parker and he’s six.” Willow pulled the photo Booth had given her from her pocket and showed it to Buffy, who grinned.

 

“Aww, what a cutie.”

 

“I know.” Booth could virtually see Willow puffing up in pride over her little brother. It was sweet to watch. His shy, eager-to-please, squinty little girl, getting to show off her little brother. From the way she talked, all of Willow’s friends were only children, so the fact that Willow had a brother, albeit only a half-brother, was a novelty in itself.

 

If Parker ever came to Sunnydale, he was going to get incredibly fussed over, if Buffy’s reaction was anything to go by.

 

Booth grinned at the thought. Parker would probably love every minute of it.

 

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

 

That afternoon Willow took Booth for a walk around Sunnydale, pointing out the key attractions of the town. Booth smiled as Willow told him stories form her past, about the (only) time that she managed to beat Jesse at pool at the Bronze, the many times she, Jesse and Xander had played in the various parks and gone to the movies together.

 

Something in Booth’s heart told him that he should let Willow be, let her finish off school in Sunnydale and then maybe try to encourage her to go to college a little closer to home. She was obviously settled in Sunnydale and she was happy here. He looked around the town as they walked. It was vastly different to living in Washington DC. Even though it was the same country and the same language, it was a completely different atmosphere. Much more laid-back and relaxed, although something about the town set Booth’s nerves on edge, something he hadn’t felt since his Army Ranger deployments in the Middle East. It was like this hidden menace in the town, one that wasn’t obvious to the FBI agent, but it was there.

 

Booth was dragged from his musing when Willow’s phone went off in her pocket. He raised his eyebrows as the small piece of technology played the Ghostbusters theme loudly.

 

Willow blushed, “Inside joke,” she explained as he chuckled.

 

“Hello,” Willow answered.

 

“Willow, how’s the father/daughter bonding thing going?”

 

“Hey, Xander. We’re good. I’m just showing Dad around town.”

 

“Cool. We were wondering if you and your dad would like to meet us at the Bronze tonight.”

 

“We have school tomorrow.”

 

“Aww, Willow, please. I, like, can’t wait to see if your dad as much of a copy of Angel and Xander and Buffy are saying he is. Besides, it will be just for a little while,” Cordelia answered; obviously having just liberated Xander of his phone.

 

“Hi, Cordy.”

 

“Giles and Ms. Calendar are going to be there too, so he won’t be the only old person there.”

 

“Um, what about Angel?” Willow asked and Buffy took the phone.

 

“He’s going to stay in tonight, you know, maybe wait a little before they actually meet face to face. I mean, Angel’s been prepared for it but we don’t want your dad to have a heart attack or anything.”

 

Willow sighed, relenting, “He’s not that old, but alright, fine, I’ll ask him.” Willow lowered her phone and covered the receiver.

 

“Um, my friends and Giles and Ms. Calendar were wondering if you would like to come to the Bronze with us.”

 

Booth coughed. “Don’t you think the Bronze is a bit young for me?”

 

Willow shrugged. “Giles and Miss Calendar are going to be there and Giles is older than you.”

 

“Okay, then, sure, whatever.” Booth shrugged.

 

“Great.” Willow beamed up at him and Booth knew he’d done the right thing.

 

“Hi, yeah, we’ll be there. What time?”

 

“We’ll meet there at 7:30. Probably a good idea to get your dad to drive.”

 

“Yeah, we’ll take my dad’s car.”

 

“Okay then, see you then. Bye.”

 

“See you, Buff.” Willow hung up, smiling happily.

 

“7:30 sound fine?” she asked, to which Booth nodded.

 

“Um, do you drive?”

 

“Yeah, of course.”

 

“Good, because it’s too far to walk at nighttime. My parent’s cars are still at the house and the keys because, you know, we can’t go far without those.”

 

“They’ll be okay with it?”

 

“Yeah, I mean, as long as they don’t get any dents or scratches, they won’t notice.”

 

Booth frowned but didn’t’t say anything. He didn’t’t entirely approve of the idea but it sounded like he would be the one actually driving, so at least it would be an experienced driver behind the wheel and from what he had heard about Willow’s adopted parents, they didn’t’t seem to be the type to notice if their cars were minus a little gas or maybe parked in a slightly different spot from normal upon their return.

 

“If you’re sure then…” Booth sighed. Willow grinned sheepishly, realizing that she did technically just ask her FBI agent father to steal a car.

 

“Oops,” she whispered under her breath.

 

“It’s okay, Willow. I’m not on duty. Let’s just try to keep ourselves out of trouble, okay?”

 

“Being out of trouble is good,” Willow rapidly agreed as they continued down the street.  

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

 

Willow led Booth into the Bronze that night, weaving around people in the crowd with Booth keeping close behind her. Willow let out a sigh as the crowd thinned away from the dance floor and she walked over to the Scooby gang’s regular spot where Buffy, Giles, and Ms. Calendar were standing.

 

“Hi, guys,” Willow greeted cheerily.

 

“Willow, it’s good to see you,” Giles greeted. Buffy gave Willow a hug and Willow put her bag with Buffy’s.

 

“Ms. Calendar, this is my dad. Dad, this is my computer teacher from school, Ms. Calendar.”

 

“Call me Jenny,” Jenny smiled.

 

“Seeley.”

 

“Willow’s been very excited about your visit.”

 

“Putting it mildly,” Giles said. Willow blushed.

 

“C’mon, Wills, let’s go and hit the dance floor. Cordy and Xander are running a bit late.”

 

“Cordy probably took longer getting ready than she expected,” Willow said with a smile. Buffy laughed as they headed out onto the dance floor. Booth watched them go but relaxed when the other two adults didn’t’t appear to be concerned.

 

“How long have you known her?” Booth asked the two.

 

“Only a year, I’m afraid. She’s a remarkable girl. I’ve never seen anyone quite so selfless as she and Xander.”

 

“Ever since she started high school for me. She’s got so much talent within her for computers.”

 

“Yeah, well, that’s definitely not from me.” Booth grinned and the others laughed.

 

The three adults fell into a comfortable silence. Jenny studied Booth out of the corner of her eye. She had heard Willow’s theory that somehow her father had been related to Angel but she’d discounted it, up until the moment that she’d laid eyes on Special Agent Booth.

 

There was no way there couldn’t be a family connection between the pair. The resemblance was shocking – it could have been Angel himself walking in behind Willow, except for the minor differences. Booth looked a little older, a few more smile lines upon his face. The skin tone was darker than Angel, who looked very pale as a general rule. Booth also seemed to be less brooding and guilt-stricken than the vampiric version but Jenny guessed that it stemmed from the fact that he hadn’t killed so many people.

 

“Special Agent Booth…” Giles began.

 

“Please, just call me Booth,” Booth cut in.

 

“Alright. Booth, what I’m going to say is off the record, alright?”

 

Booth frowned and nodded. Giles leaned forward, his face deadly, serious and allowed a hint of Ripper through.

 

“What are your intentions towards Willow?”

 

“I just want to get to know her, let her get to know her family. She has a little brother that really wants to spend time with her.”

 

“Good. Do you plan on petitioning for custody and taking Willow from Sunnydale?”

 

Booth paused. “No,” he answered thoughtfully. “Not unless she wants me to and I can see that she’s happy here. I think she’s looked after, if not by her adopted parents, then by you and her friends. She’s made her own family here and it would hurt her to take her away.”    

 

Giles nodded, his opinion of Booth increasing with every word the man said. “Good, but let me say this. I view Willow and the others as my own children. If you hurt her, then I will not be responsible for my actions or theirs.”

 

Booth nodded, “And if you hurt her, then I will come back down here and I will not be responsible for my actions.”

 

“Understood. Are we both agreed?”

 

“Willow doesn’t’t get hurt by either of us and everyone stays happy.”

 

“Good.” Giles leaned back and took a sip of his drink, as though he hadn’t just threatened a Federal Agent. Booth processed what had just happened.

 

Giles was a lot braver than Booth had guessed at first impression. He liked that. He obviously cared a lot about Willow for him to have gone out on a branch like that.

 

Jenny had watched the exchange, making sure the two guys kept things civilized. Once they had settled back down, she returned to her thoughts.

 

If Booth and, by extension, Willow were related to Angel, then that caused problems for her clan. Learning that he had living family after all these years would make Angel feel good. In fact, learning that Willow was his distant relative could involve Angel getting Happy, which would surely be bad.

 

She was going to have to contact her uncle about the latest developments and see what he said, because if Angelus did return, then it would be highly plausible that he would attempt to purge the world of his human family.

 

And, being in Sunnydale with him, Willow would be his first target.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that more sober note, we end chapter 17. 
> 
> For all of those out there question where this story is positioned in regards to the Buffy and Bones timelines, I have it penciled in after Halloween, Season two of Buffy. From memory Angelus doesn't appear till about January, so the Scoobies (except for Jenny) are unaware that Angel's soul can be lost. At the moment anyway. In regards to Bones, this story takes place in the first half of Season 3. 
> 
> I also have a feeling that i might have gone a little Out of Character for some characters in this chapter, including Buffy, Willow, and Booth, but I wasn't sure. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. Let me know what you think.


	18. Chapter 18

Booth was drinking coffee the next morning when there was a knock at the front door. Willow hurried down the stairs, carrying her school bag. They had already eaten breakfast together a little earlier, so Booth waved as she headed to the door.

 

“Have fun at school.”

 

“See you later,” Willow replied as she opened the door. Booth heard Xander’s voice greeting Willow and smiled as he heard his daughter step out and close the door behind her.

 

He waited until he was sure she was gone before he pulled out his phone, flicking through his inbox until he found Bones’ number. He hit the call button and raised the piece of technology to his hear.

 

“Brennan,” Bones answered the phone.

 

“Hey, Bones, what’s up?”

 

“Well, directly above me is the ceiling and beyond that are the various layers of the atmosphere, but I am assuming by you saying ‘what’s up’, you really meant to convey the message ‘what have you up to,’ in which case I have been working on some remains from storage that working on FBI cases has made me too busy to work on before, and the FBI has not assigned the Jeffersonian a new liaison to work with during your absence. How are things going with Willow?’

 

“It’s going okay. I’ve met most of her friends and they seem to be really great. She’s a great kid. She’s really, I don’t know, sweet, and she’s smart as well. She’s at school now.”

 

“That’s good, Booth. It sounds as if she’s happy to get to know you.”

 

“Yeah. She took me out last night to meet her, er, mentors. The librarian and one of the teachers from her school. They look out for those kids. One of them was concerned I was going to end up hurting Willow for some reason and I had to reassure him that I wasn’t going to do anything that would hurt her.”

 

“It’s good to hear that she has parental figures in Sunnydale, even though they aren’t her actual adoptive parents. Have you made a decision regarding whether or not you were going to file for custody of Willow?”

 

Booth considered his answer before replying, even though he’d already made up his mind. “As long as nothing changes, I’m happy for Willow to stay here. I mean, in less than two years she’s going to be graduated from high school and she’s happy here. She’s lived her whole life in this town and she’s got good friends who care about here and she’s found her own set of parents that care about her and look after her. Even though the crime rate is so high, Willow knows about it and she’s really careful, which is good. I think, if I tried to take her away, she’d resent me for it, and, well…”

 

“You don’t want to lose her after only just finding out she exists. That’s very noble of you, Booth, putting her wishes before your own. I understand that is going to be difficult for you to feel like you’re being involved considering the distance between you but I have every confidence in you.”

 

“Thanks, Bones. Oh, I invited her to come and visit over Christmas.”

 

“That’s good, Booth. Do you think she’ll be able to come?”

 

“I think she wants to come but I’m going to have to ask her parents. Problem is they’re off in Europe somewhere and won’t come back until after Willow goes back to school.”

 

“Could you ask them over the phone?”

 

“Bones, put yourself in their shoes. Would they seriously let their daughter go and spend the holidays with some guy who they don’t know and on the phone said that he was her biological father without at least seeing some form of proof?”

 

‘Well, no,” Bones admitted.

 

“I kind of get the feeling that Willow’s used to making her own decisions regarding things. I mean, her parents don’t know I’m staying in their house and Willow told me that if I want to I can use their car while I’m here. It’s like they don’t exist to her.”

 

Bones was thoughtfully quiet for a moment. “Maybe you should talk to Sweets. I know historically the teenage years are a time of widespread rebellion against authority figures, especially in the last thirty years or so. Maybe it is Willow’s form of rebellion.”

 

“I don’t know. She seems happy enough to be with me and Giles, the high school librarian, and Jenny, the teacher I told you about. I’m pretty sure those two have taken in Willow and her friends, especially Giles. I get the feeling that Willow isn’t the only one with bad parents.”

 

“At least Willow was able to form up her own family in the absence of her adopted parents.”

 

“Yeah, I guess. Makes me wish that I knew though, so then I could have looked after her.”

 

“Stop beating yourself up about it, Booth. You didn’t know about Willow until now, so there was nothing you could do about it. Now you know, you are getting involved though. I’m happy for you and for Willow.”

 

‘Thanks, Bones. I’ve gotta go and make some other calls.”

 

“I’ll see you when you come back, Booth.”

 

Booth hung up, sighing, before he glanced around the quiet house. His thoughts floated back to the previous night when he’d met Giles and Jenny Calendar, the people that he could see meant so much to Willow, and he could see that at least, on the surface, they cared about her as well.

 

He dialed in a familiar number, raising his phone to his ear once again.    

        

Chris Adams was an agent of the FBI who did a lot of background checks for agents who were too busy to do their own background checks on victims and suspects, if the agent was investigating a crime out of the DC area. Booth had used him many times, and they got along well.

 

“Special Agent Adams,” Chris answered the phone.

 

“Chris, it’s Booth. I need to call in a favor.”

 

“Booth, aren’t you on leave or something?”

 

“Yeah, it’s not case-related.”

 

“Okay, then, I still owe you for that time you covered for me. So shoot, what would you like me to do?”

 

“Only what you do best, Chris.”

 

“Background checks? I thought you said this wasn’t connected to a case. What’s going on?”

 

“I found out, a week or so ago, that I have a sixteen-year-old daughter living in California. I’m visiting her at the moment.”

 

“Oh, God, Booth, um, congratulations?”

 

Booth laughed. “Thanks, Chris.”

 

“You want me to check out the kid and the people she knows?”

 

“Yeah, off the record. Just have the files on my desk on Thursday morning. It can wait until then.”

 

“Alright then. Give me the names and I’ll write them down.

 

“Okay, Ira and Sheila Rosenberg. They’re her adopted parents.”

 

“Yep,” Chris said once he had written the names down.

 

“Willow Rosenberg, that’s her.”

 

“Nice name. Alright, got it.”

 

“Buffy Summers and Alexander Harris, who also goes as Xander.”

 

“Friends?”

 

“Yep, then there is Cordelia Chase.”

 

“Uh-huh, strangely-named bunch of kids,” Chris commented. Booth laughed.

 

“I’ve had the same thought. Then there’s Rupert Giles, who is English. Don’t know how long he’s been out here, or if he’s an American citizen or something.”

 

“Okay, anyone else?”

 

“Jenny Calendar. That’s it.”

 

“Okay then, Booth. I’ll do the background checks and they’ll all be done for when you get back. Have a good time getting to know your daughter.”

 

“Thanks for doing this, Chris.”

 

“No problem, Booth. Bye”

 

“See you.” Booth hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.

 

Now, what could a FBI agent do while in the town that his previously-unknown daughter grew up in while she was at school?

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth stood out the front of Sunnydale High school at the end of the school day, waiting for Willow to emerge. He’d sent her a text message, having found her mobile phone number written on a piece of paper on the bench, telling her that he was going to meet her out the front of the school at the end of the day. He hadn’t gotten a reply, but he’d guessed that it was simply because Willow hadn’t looked at her phone as she would’ve been in class.

 

The school bell rang within the school and groups of teenagers began to emerge. Booth watched as they moved away from the school, relishing in the freedom of the school day being over. He searched the crowd for Willow’s distinctive long red hair but didn’t spot it. Booth wasn’t worried – she was probably talking to Buffy or Xander or Cordelia, or maybe even one of her teachers.

 

The crowd of students that were leaving the school began to thin and Booth smiled as he saw Willow emerge from the doors, bag slung over her shoulder. Buffy walked beside her chatting away about something as Willow listened intently, although Booth felt happiness well up within him when Willow smiled brightly when she spotted him. Buffy obviously saw the change too, because she smiled as well, and began walking towards Booth.

 

“Hi, Special Agent Booth,” Buffy brightly greeted.

 

“Hi, Buffy, how was school?”

 

“Kind of meh, a bit boring. I’ve got to go though, homework and all that. The joys of being a teenager in today’s highly academic society. See you tomorrow, Willow.” Buffy turned and began to walk towards her house.

 

“Bye, Buffy,” Willow called before refocusing on her father.

 

“How was your day? It wasn’t too boring, was it? I’m sorry, but there’s really not much to do in Sunnydale, and you must have been really bored, because daytime TV is really boring, even though you probably didn’t even watch daytime TV and could find lots of interesting things to do,” Willow babbled. Booth just watched on in amazement.

 

“How do you do that?’ he asked once he was sure she was finished. Willow shrugged.

 

“Practice and I should warn you, it’s catching. Xander never used to babble before he met me, and now he does, even though he’s not as bad. He can usually stop himself. I have trouble with that, even though he has to stop to breathe. He thinks I was born with big lungs, so I can keep going for longer than him.”

 

“I don’t know, your babble isn’t too bad. I can usually sort of understand what you’re saying. When the squints babble, they use all these long winded scientific explanations that make no sense.”

 

Willow giggled. “That would be kind of hard to understand. I do that with computers but we’ve never had a discussion about computers, so it hasn’t been an issue yet.”

 

Booth began to walk towards Willow’s home with the teenager walking alongside him.

 

“So, what did you do at school today?” Booth asked, and then he thought of how, less than a week ago, he’d asked Parker the very same question as an conversation starter. It worked just as well with Willow.

 

“We had our computer programming class with Ms. Calendar first up, even though I’m the only one of my friends in that class. Then we had biology, math and history. At lunch time, we helped Giles reshelve books and then we had English and French.”

 

“Did you get much homework?”

 

“A little for math but that’s okay, because I’m good at that.”

 

“That’s good, because I wouldn’t have been able to help you at all,” Booth admitted.

 

Willow shrugged. “I’ve never really needed my parents help on homework. I’ve always just sort of… gotten it, if you know what I mean.”

 

“If I were you, I’d be thankful that I got my mother’s brains.”

 

“But I didn’t get your social skills.”

 

“You can learn those. You’re a lot better than most of the squints.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Oh yeah. One day, if you want and your parents say its okay, you can come and visit and I’ll take you to meet them and then you’ll know what I mean.”

 

Willow smiled. “I hope my parents let me come and visit.”

 

“Me too, Willow, me too,” Booth agreed.


	19. Chapter 19

The next day at school found Willow in the library during her lunchtime, along with Buffy, Xander and Cordelia. There was not much happening on the demonic front at that particular point in time, except for Buffy’s continued patrols of the cemeteries, so they simply flicked through books looking for anything interesting.

 

“Oh,” Buffy said, thumping her heavy book onto the library table loudly. “My mom wanted to know if you guys wanted to come for dinner tonight.”

 

“Er, Buffy, my dad’s visiting,” Willow gently reminded Buffy.

 

“She said to bring him. She wants to meet him.”

 

“Sounds fun.” Xander shrugged. He loved eating dinner at the Summers’ house.

 

“I’m game, I guess. The Bronze is so dead on Tuesdays anyway,” Cordelia added.

 

“Giles, are you going to come?” Buffy asked her watcher, who was in his office. Giles poked his head out the door.

 

“Oh, no. I’m afraid I’ve got some things to look at.”

 

“Alright then.”

 

“Oh, at some point, we should introduce my dad and Angel before my dad leaves town.”

 

“I so want to be there when that happens.” Xander grinned. Cordelia nodded.

 

“I have to admit, it would be entertaining and we so won’t be able to tell who is who unless Angel goes grr.”

 

“Whoa, there is not going to be any Angel going grr in front of my dad. He’d freak out. Besides, my dad dresses way differently than Angel and you can tell the difference between them. My dad is more tanned and he has smile lines and he’s not as, you know… broody,” Willow said.

 

Buffy nodded. “I’ve gotta say, I agree with Willow on that one. We should do it tonight.”

 

“How’s your mom going to handle it?”

 

“Oh yeah, that might take explaining and she might not be so… overjoyed by Willow finding her real dad if he looks a lot like Angel, since she doesn’t really like Angel.”

 

“It proves she has good taste,” Xander said, only to be smacked in the arms by the three teenaged girls he sat with.

 

“Ow.” He winced, rubbing the sore spots, particularly the one where Buffy had hit him.

 

“You kind of deserved it, Xander,” Cordelia said. The bell chose that moment to sound and the four teenagers groaned, before picking up their bags and trudging out of the library, waving at Giles in farewell, before they headed off to face an afternoon of academic torture.

 

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

 

Willow smiled when she spotted Booth once again waiting for her outside school. She hurried over to him, her bag slung over her shoulder. Buffy was staying behind to do some training with Giles and Xander and Cordy were off doing couple-ish things together.

 

“Hi,” she said as she reached Booth’s side. Booth smiled at her.

 

“Hi, did you have a good day?”

 

Willow shrugged. “It was good. Buffy’s mom has invited us over to dinner.”

 

“That was nice of her,” Booth said, not quite knowing what else to say.

 

“Yeah, all of us except for Giles and Ms. Calendar are going to be there. Giles had something else on and it would have been a little weird for Ms. Calendar to have been there without Giles.”

 

“Are they together or something?” Booth grinned. Willow smiled in response.

 

“Finally. They’ve been dancing around each other ever since, um, probably April. It’s still kind of a new thing though. Buffy doesn’t know Ms. Calendar as well as she knows Giles, because Giles is the teacher of the study group we’re all in, and Buffy’s never actually had Ms. Calendar as a teacher. For Buffy, she’s always been Giles’s kind of girlfriend.”

Booth chuckled. He remembered back when he was in high school, when teachers got together. They always tried to keep it a secret but then it would come out, often in the most public of ways, and the majority of the student population would be mortified. The remaining, mostly made up of by girls, would find it the sweetest thing ever and would gush over the couple like a little stray puppy.

 

From the way Willow talked, it sounded very much like Willow was a member of the minority group. That in itself amused Booth, because Carmen had been just like that. It was proof that Willow had inherited her mother’s kind heart, as well as her mind.

 

Booth started to walk back towards Willow’s house, Willow walking beside him and a comfortable silence between them.

 

“So, um, Angel’s going to be there. At least, Buffy said he was going to be there. Something might come up and he might not be able to come but he’s supposed to be there and I’m just warning you, because you two look a lot alike and I don’t want you to freak out and Joyce, Mrs. Summers, might be a bit… weird, because she doesn’t really like Angel. No real reason why, other than the fact that he’s dating her daughter and he’s older.”

 

“Willow, you’re babbling,” Booth gently cut in and Willow went red.

 

“Yes, thank you for that. I just can’t stop sometimes and it’s a little embarrassing and …”

 

Booth looked at her and couldn’t help but laugh. Willow went even redder.

 

“I’m just going to be quiet now.” Willow pouted. Booth stopped and faced Willow. She looked so much like Parker at that moment, it was kind of unnerving. Obviously, there was more of Booth in her than he’d first thought.

 

“Willow, I like it when you talk. You’ve got so many interesting things to say. Thank you for the warning; I’ll be on my best behaviour. Do you know Mrs. Summers well?”

 

“Ever since I confronted my parents about my… adoption, I’ve been staying in her guest room. She’s been very supportive of me. Everyone has. It’s been great.”

 

“I’m glad she’s been looking after you,” Booth said softly, before pulling Willow into a loose, gentle hug. Willow stiffened, unable to remember the last time her parents had held her like this. Being held by Booth made her feel safe and warm and protected and loved. She relaxed into the embrace, smiling against Booth’s chest.

 

“I’m going to miss you. Are you going to keep emailing me?”

 

“Of course I’m going to keep in contact with you. Email, phone calls, I’ll come and visit when I can. Have you thought about if you want to come and spend Christmas with me?”

 

“I really want to; I just don’t know if my parents are going to let me. I want to meet Parker; he sounds like a great little brother.”

 

Booth smiled softly, already able to tell that Willow and Parker would get along well. “He wants to get to know you as well. I hope you can come. I’ll talk to your parents if you want, to make them feel more comfortable about it.”

 

Willow cringed as she thought about her parents’ reaction to the discovery of her real family. She couldn’t picture them being overly thrilled by the idea of her staying with her biological father but then, since he was an FBI agent, it might go alright.

 

The key word being might.

 

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

 

Booth pulled one of the Rosenberg’s cars into the driveway of the house Willow had pointed out as being Buffy’s and turned off the engine. Willow sat in the passenger seat. She smiled reassuringly at him before getting out of the car. Booth paused before he got out of the car as well and followed Willow up to the front door. Willow knocked upon the door and waited. Booth could hear the sound of footsteps within the house and there were plenty of lights on, so someone was obviously at home. The door opened to reveal Buffy, who was smiling happily.

 

“Hi, Willow, Special Agent Booth. I’m glad you could come.” Buffy stepped aside, letting them in without actually inviting them. Willow stepped over the threshold and Booth followed her.

 

“How’s your mom?” Willow asked as Buffy closed the door.

 

“She’s good, she’s in the kitchen. I tried to help her but she kicked me out.” Buffy pouted and Willow laughed.

 

“I wonder why, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you can’t boil water without burning it.”

 

“It’s not my fault that I forget about it,” Buffy protested.

 

Booth grinned at the interaction between the two girls as a woman approached them. He instantly knew she was Buffy’s mother, simply by the resemblance between them.

 

“Oh, Mom, this is Special Agent Booth, Willow’s dad.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Special Agent Booth. My name is Joyce, I’m Buffy’s mother.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Joyce. Please, just call me Booth.”

 

“Alright then. I hope you like roast; I thought it would be a safe bet considering how many of you there are going to be, especially considering how much Buffy and Xander eat.”

 

“Mom,” Buffy said in an outraged tone while Willow fought to contain her giggles, failing dismally.

 

“You’ve got to admit, Buffy, she does have a point. You do eat a lot.”

 

Buffy pouted. “I’m a growing girl, I need to eat.”

 

The conversation was broken off by the sound of knocking on the door.

 

“That will be Xander and Cordelia; it’s still too early for Angel to get here,” Buffy said as she went to answer the door. Joyce led Willow and Booth into the living room.

 

“How are you finding Sunnydale, Mr. Booth?” Joyce asked.

 

“It’s nice, very different from Washington D.C., where I live.”

 

“I can only imagine. Before we moved here, Buffy and I lived in L.A. Even now I am struck by the difference. When do you leave?”

 

“Tomorrow, I’m afraid. I was only able to get three days off work, so it was just a short trip so I could meet and get to know Willow.”

 

“Hey, Willow,” Xander said from the doorway. Willow grinned and got up, hurrying over to Xander. Booth watched as she and the boy disappeared from sight, obviously joining the other teens in the hallway. He could hear their muffled voices but not well enough to hear what exactly they were saying.

 

“Listen, Joyce. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for Willow. I know she looks up to you as a mother figure and I know that she stays here when her parents are out of town. I really appreciate it,” Booth said. Joyce smiled.

 

“It’s no problem, Mr. Booth. Willow’s like my second daughter. I have to say, I was glad when she found out she was adopted, because then it would mean that she might have parents out there that care about her more that Ira and Sheila. I’ve considered making a complaint against them to child protection, and I’ve spoken to Rupert Giles about this too, but I don’t believe anything can be done. Sheila and Ira are quite well connected and Rupert was worried that if Willow was removed from their care, she would be taken away from Sunnydale and possibly placed in a home where she will be less cared for than she is now. We both thought that she was better off where she is, where she has friends that care about her, that she cares about as well and, even though her parents are often away, she has myself and Rupert Giles, and, oh, what was her name, the computer teacher… Jenny, that was it.”

 

Booth nodded. He could completely see where Joyce was coming from. With the local police department proving to be incompetent at best, if their homicide records were anything to go by. Besides, with all the murders and disappearances that happened in Sunnydale, a case of child neglect against two respected members of the community wasn’t going to get dealt with in a timely manner, possibly not even being touched until after Willow turned 18 anyway. It sucked but Willow was happy and as long as Willow was happy and safe, Booth was content to let things stay as they were.   

 

Booth glanced out the window, surprised to notice that the sun had sunk beneath the horizon, shrouding Sunnydale in darkness. He and Joyce had obviously been talking for longer than he’d thought. Joyce smiled at him before going to check up on dinner while Booth went to check on the teenagers.  

They were still in the hallway, chatting about school and how much of a troll their principal, a man named Snyder, was. Booth grinned, having held a very similar belief throughout his high school years.

 

“Oh hey, Willow’s dad.” Xander grinned at him, having only just noticed Booth’s appearance in the hallway.

 

“Hi, Xander, how are you?”

 

“I’m great, looking forward to Angel getting here though.”

 

The three girls looked at Xander as if he had grown a third head; giving Booth the impression that Angel wasn’t Xander’s favorite person, although Willow had told him that.

 

“What? You’re all ganging up on me, I need another guy to back me up,” Xander hastily said. Booth quirked an eyebrow before shrugging. Obviously it was an inside joke. He turned his back and walked away; going in the direction Joyce had gone in. He didn’t hear Xander’s next words.

 

“I can’t wait until Angel and Will’s dad are in the same room. It’s going to be really freaky.”

 

“I hope it’s not too weird. At least I was able to prepare mom a little, and Angel knows,” Buffy said. Cordelia shook her head.

 

“I don’t know, I think it’s going to be kind of hot. I mean, Booth is good-looking and Angel is good-looking. I wonder if Booth has a girlfriend, since Angel is taken.”

 

Willow, Buffy and Xander looked at Cordelia in slack-jawed amazement. Cordy looked back at them and rolled her eyes.

 

“Oh, come on. I was kidding. I am with Xander and besides, dating Willow’s dad? Ew.”

 

At that moment there was the sound of knocking upon the door, causing all the teenagers, except Buffy, to jump in surprise. Buffy smoothly went over to the door, opening it to reveal Angel.

 

“Hi, Angel,” she greeted, going up on tip-toes to kiss him on the lips before stepping aside and letting him in. Angel stepped over the threshold, having been invited into the Summers’ house long ago, and nodded his greeting to the other Scoobies. Xander smirked, bouncing up and down slightly on his feet in anticipation. Willow and Cordelia rolled their eyes at Xander’s childishness before turning and leading Buffy, Angel and Xander towards the kitchen. Booth was sitting at the breakfast bar, chatting to Joyce as she served up. Willow cleared her throat as Buffy and Angel entered the room, followed by Xander.

 

“Um, Dad, this is Buffy’s boyfriend, Angel. Angel, this is my dad, Special Agent Booth.”

 

“Seeing them in the same room is kind of freaky,” Cordelia said in a loud whisper to Xander. Everyone in the room heard it though, because it was the only sound in the whole room, everything and everyone else was stunned silence.

 

“Um, hi,” Booth managed, one thought going through his head. Bones was NOT going to believe this.


	20. Chapter 20

Willow waited until she and her father were safely inside her house before she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

 

In hindsight, the dinner hadn’t been the disaster it had the potential to be. Booth hadn’t questioned the resemblance, only joking that now he understood why Willow had queried the possibility of them being related.

 

Joyce had been quite shocked by it at first but had seemed to calm down, and she appeared to have been happy to chat away to Booth at one end of the table while Angel and Buffy quietly chatted at the opposite end. Willow, Xander and Cordelia bounced from conversation to conversation or had their own conversations in between. Willow was pretty sure that Booth hadn’t noticed the way Angel had not eaten.

 

It looked like Sunnydale Syndrome had sort of kicked in to a certain extent and Willow was kind of grateful. It had made everything run more smoothly, at least for Booth and Joyce anyway. Willow had been incredibly nervous throughout the whole thing, even though Buffy had been giving her reassurance throughout the whole ordeal.

 

“Did you have a nice night?” Booth asked her. Willow nodded.

 

“Yes, did you?”

 

Booth shrugged. It had been a bit formal for his liking but the company had been good, except for Willow being incredibly tense beside him the entire time. Booth had forced himself to relax and enjoy himself for Willow’s benefit, trying to show her that he approved of the group of people she had integrated herself with.

 

Joyce had been very nice, but Booth was sure that Willow’s tenseness was connected to his and Angel’s… resemblance.

Naturally, at the start, it had been unnerving, seeing someone who was almost the spitting image of a younger version of himself, but Booth had found himself picking up on the differences between them (and trying not to focus on how old he felt looking at the younger man, especially since Angel had a teenaged girlfriend).

 

Booth was more tanned than the other man, which was apparent straight out. Angel was very pale, even compared to Willow, who was fair-skinned because of her hair color, and he looked obviously younger than Booth. Other than that, there was little difference.

 

Still, Booth got the impression that Angel was more of a scholar than a fighter, because Joyce had made the comment that Angel and Buffy had met when he’d tutored her in history. Booth would never have been able to do that.    

 

Booth privately didn’t approve of Angel and Buffy’s relationship but he knew he had no real grounds to interfere, other than the obvious age difference. Angel looked to be the more submissive one of the relationship and from what Booth saw, he couldn’t picture the relationship moving onto the next base, so to speak, any time soon if Angel had any say in it. As it was, Booth was just glad that Willow wasn’t the one in the relationship with the older man. He’d watched Angel and Willow interact throughout the evening and found that he agreed with what Willow had said of the relationship she shared with the older man. Very much one of an older brother and his younger sister, or maybe cousins, a very appropriate relationship as they were possibly related, and after meeting the guy, Booth found that it was nigh impossible that they weren’t related.

 

If it wasn’t for the obvious age difference between him and Angel, Booth would have been questioning whether he had an identical twin brother out there.  

 

At least he got the better name of the two; he was never going to whine about being named Seeley ever again.

 

“Yeah, it was alright. Buffy’s mother was nice,” he answered Willow’s question.

 

“Yeah, she’s very nice. She’s been looking after me since my parents left town last time. She makes really good hot chocolate, with little marshmallows.” Willow babbled, smiling happily. Booth smiled back; obviously his little girl was feeling a little more relaxed now that she was at home.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow was sad to see her father leave the next morning, loaded up with copies of photos of her growing up and promising to keep in touch. In the few short days that they’d been together, for the first time in her life, it felt as though she was with family. Sure, Xander, Buffy and Giles were like the family that she’d built herself, along with Angel, Ms. Calendar, Cordelia to a certain extent and Joyce, but it was as if her body had known that Booth was connected to her, that they were linked in the bond of a father and daughter. For the first time, Willow felt like she’d really experienced the love of a father. Ira had cared about her but in the years that Willow could remember, he had become increasingly absent from her life and she had not felt really connected to him. Sheila was the same.

 

Now though, Willow knew what it was like to have a father that would always be there for you, even though he was so far away most of the time.

 

Head bowed, with the photo of Parker tucked into her bag carefully so she could show it to the others, Willow headed to school. Even though she’d left her home later than she did normally, she still had plenty of time, so she walked into the library.

 

Buffy and Xander were already there, sitting on the tables telling Giles about the dinner the previous night.

 

“Hey Willow,” Xander greeted cheerfully.

 

“Hi Xander,” Willow replied, putting her bag on the floor and dropping into a chair.

“Willow, we’re just telling Giles about the dinner party last night. Mom was happy.”

 

“Did Angel find it weird?” Willow asked.

 

Buffy shrugged. “A little but then, he’s kind of used to weird.”

 

“Does weird usually come in the form of a thirty-something-year-old human guy that looks almost exactly like him, though?” Xander joked and Buffy nodded, conceding that Xander had a good point.

 

“All right, I think he was a little unnerved. It was kind of freaky though. Seeing them together. Your dad handled it well though.”

 

Willow nodded. “I think he was a bit shaken by it. He was really quiet last night, like he was thinking really hard.”

 

“See, there’s another difference between them. Willow’s dad thinks.” Xander snorted. Buffy leaned over and hit him in the arm again.

 

“Ow, Giles, did you see that, Buffy hit me.”

 

“Tattletale,” Buffy pouted as Giles rolled his eyes.

 

“Buffy, do try and refrain from hitting other students. Xander, I suggest withholding your comments on Angel until you are out of Buffy’s reach.”

 

“Gotcha.” Xander nodded, rubbing his sore arm. At that point, the bell tolled and the three students got up and left the library, heading off to class.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

At the end of the school day, the Scoobies found themselves in the library. Xander didn’t want to go home and Cordelia had something to do. Buffy was training with Giles and Willow was doing her homework and trying to persuade Xander to do the same. Eventually the dark-haired boy gave in and pulled out his books, starting to work.

 

The library was quiet, except for Giles coaching Buffy as they trained. Willow quickly finished her homework and, seeing that Xander was probably going to need her help soon, logged onto her emails to fill in her time. There was nothing new in her inbox but Willow glanced at her watch. Booth was probably still in the air but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have an email from her waiting when he got back to work.

 

Or maybe it would be too needy and clingy? Willow considered it before shrugging and opening up a new message. She typed Booth’s email address into the recipient box and then clicked on the message box.

 

 _‘Hi Dad,’_ she typed.

 

_‘I know you haven’t been gone for long, but I just thought I’d give you something to read when you get into work tomorrow._

_I’ve finished school for the day but we’re in the library, because I’m helping Xander with his homework. He’s doing okay at the moment, so I thought I’d just type out an email._

_How was your flight? I’m not sure how long it takes to fly from L.A. to Washington D.C., so you might have landed by now (its four o’clock my time), or you might not have._

_I showed Xander my picture of Parker today. He thinks that, apart from the hair and the eyes, he looks a lot like me when I was younger. Xander thinks that Parker sounds very cute though. I think he’s a little jealous that I have a little brother._

_I really hope I can come and spend Christmas with you and Parker. Is Washington D.C. pretty at Christmas time? All I’ve seen are pictures, and it looks pretty in those. I want to meet the people you work with, especially the people at the Jeffersonian, because what they do with using forensic science to solve murders sounds really cool. It’s kind of like CSI, but only better, because you’re my dad and you’re the hero that gets to go in and arrest the bad guys._

_Sorry, I’m babbling._

_I was talking to Buffy and Xander and Cordelia today, and they all had fun last night. Buffy said that her mom and Angel both had a good time too, but I haven’t spoken to them today because I’ve been at school and, naturally, they’re not here._

_I hope you’re okay and that, if I don’t email you again before then, your Thanksgiving weekend with Parker goes good. Tell him I say hi and Happy Thanksgiving. Tell the people at the Jeffersonian that too._

_I have to go now; Xander’s just started on his trig homework. He’s going to need my help pretty soon._

_Lots of Love from your Daughter,_

_Willow’_

Willow hit the send button and closed down the internet browser before she turned to face Xander.

 

“Need some help?” she offered. Xander looked over at her pleadingly, not even needing to vocalize how stuck he was.

 

Willow smiled and began to talk her way through it with him, having long ago figured out how to make math make sense to her best friend.

 

“What were you doing, once you finished your homework and before I needed your help?” Xander asked in between answering Willow’s questions. Willow smiled.

 

“I just sent my Dad an email, that’s all.”

 

Xander smiled. Even though the way Willow’s father looked so much like Angel, he was happy for her. He’d seen how happy knowing Booth had made Willow, how much happier she’d been ever since she’d started to email him. Xander had seen the way Booth had looked out for Willow, always ready to protect her, looking out for her. Xander could tell that Booth cared about Willow the way every parent should care about their child, the way Willow’s adopted parents had failed to care about her, the way his own parents had failed to care about him, the way Buffy’s dad had failed to care about her, the way Buffy’s mom cared about her and the way Giles cared about them all.

 

Xander answered the last few questions Willow had asked him, scribbling down answers in his book before Willow smiled brightly at him.

 

“There you go, you’re done.”

 

“Really, so am I.” Buffy beamed, sipping from a water bottle as Giles wearily unstrapped his mitts, collapsing into a chair.

 

“You okay, Giles?” Willow asked. Giles shook his head.

 

“I will be. You all head home. I shall see you tomorrow.”

 

“Okay then.” They all grabbed their bags, and left the library through the back door, just in case Snyder was lingering.

 

Walking together, they walked towards Xander’s house first and dropped him off. Then, Willow and Buffy continued on.

 

“Willow, Mom wanted me to tell you that if you want you can come and stay with us again now that your dad is out of town, you’re most welcome. I think she wants you to come and stay.”

 

Willow shrugged. It was nice to stay with Buffy and Joyce. Nicer than staying in an otherwise empty house.

 

“Alright, if you’re sure it’s okay.”

 

Buffy nodded, “Yeah. We’ll go past your place and get some clothes for you to wear and then we’ll head home, okay.”

 

“Sounds great.”

 

Willow ran up to her room when she got to her house, grabbing the school books she would need for the rest of the week and clothes to last for the rest of the week. She put them all in a bag and, satisfied that she had everything she would need, locked up the house again, meeting Buffy at the front door and heading off together. Buffy chattered away about her plans for what they could do over the next few nights while Willow listened intently, smiling at her best friend’s words. Everything, it seemed, was good


	21. Chapter 21

Booth strode into his office, leaving the door open as he unbuttoned his jacket and dropped down into his seat, surveying his desk, looking for anything that was new. He instantly spotted the file that Chris had composed on Willow and her friends in Sunnydale and he picked it up, flicking it open, fully intending to do some reading before he was given a case.

 

“Booth, you’re back. Did you have a good trip?” Sweets asked from the doorway. Booth lowered the file to look at the young psychologist.

 

“Oh, were you busy? Do you have a case already?”

 

“No, Sweets, I’m not busy and it’s not case-related. Just some background checks on Willow and her friends.”  


“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Some teenagers might see it as an invasion of privacy that they and their friends are being looked up.”

 

“It’s not so much Willow’s friends I’m concerned about, it’s the adults she hangs around with, specifically the librarian and the computer teacher at her high school.

 

“Are you worried that something’s up?” Sweets frowned, entering Booth’s office and sitting down opposite Booth at the desk. Booth rubbed his hand over his face.

 

“I don’t know, Sweets. I mean, they’re like her parents in that town. Willow and her closest friends don’t appear to have a clear male role model in their personal lives and they spend a lot of time in the library, so it makes sense that the librarian takes them in a little, and from what I’ve seen, apart from Buffy, she’s Willow’s best girl friend, none of them have a good female role model, so it kind of makes sense for the computer teacher to take them in, especially Willow, because she is pretty good with computers.”

 

“Did she admit to hacking the FBI?” Sweets asked, having been told by Hodgins about his theory. It made sense though. How else would Willow have been able to track Booth down using his work email?

 

Booth shook his head. “No, There isn’t any evidence that she was actually the one who did it and she hasn’t done anything harmful yet.”

 

Sweets smirked. “You’re proud of her, aren’t you? It’s completely normal for a parent to be proud of their child’s accomplishment, even if they are of… questionable legality.”

 

Booth sighed, hating that the younger man was right. Knowing to what extent Willow had gone to try and contact him was touching and he knew for a fact that Willow must have been very skilled at hacking to be able to infiltrate the FBI. There was a part of him that was swollen in pride at her actions and her obvious skill, while there was another part of him that wanted, in its own way, to try and stop Willow from doing such a dangerous thing. Booth shuddered to think what would happen if she got caught.

 

Obviously, the look on Booth’s face gave him away, because Sweets smiled, obviously happy to have read Booth correctly.

 

“Willow sounds like a clever enough girl and she had good intentions. She hasn’t done any harm, after all.”

 

“I know.” Booth sighed before he picked up the folder and leaned back in his chair. He opened up the folder and removed the note that Chris had paper clipped to the front sheet.

 

 _‘Booth, I hope this is informative. As far as the kids are concerned, everything is reasonably normal, but you might want to check out the adults.’_ Booth frowned, and glanced at the top most background check. It was Willow’s, Chris obviously thinking that Booth would be the most eager to read about his own daughter’s history. He was right.

 

Booth scanned over the report. Nothing was out of the ordinary, other than Willow’s medical records, which he already knew about. Her clear criminal record, with not even a parking fine to her name, was heartening though. There was no mention of her hacking, indicating that the FBI wasn’t aware that Willow could hack.

 

Also within Willow’s background check was her school records. Booth let out a low whistle when he glanced at her results. Willow was a straight A student, something he had never been. It was clear that she had inherited her mother’s academic skills, although Willow seemed to prefer math and science-related subjects rather than English like her mother had. Booth had already known that though, from the emails and discussions he had shared with his daughter. There wasn’t really any new information. Knowing that Sweets was interested in Willow and that his input would be useful, Booth handed Willow’s background check to Sweets for the younger man to read before he turned his attention to the next check-in within the folder.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Xander Harris’s file showed nothing out of the ordinary, as had Cordelia Chase’s. They appeared to be just an ordinary teenaged boy and girl. Both of them achieved average grades with clean criminal records. Her medical records were clean, while his showed that he, like Willow, had been in hospital a few times for minor concussions, scrapes, cuts and bruises in recent times. While it was concerning that an almost seventeen-year-old boy was getting hurt like that, it was also reassuring that Willow wasn’t alone in getting hurt.

 

Buffy Summers was a slightly different story. Her school records indicated that she had average grades, like Xander and Cordelia, and her criminal history was mostly clear, except for a note regarding a fire that burned down the gymnasium of her former high school in LA. The fire had been attributed to mice chewing on some wiring, but there had been theories, although there wasn’t any real evidence supporting it, that Buffy had been the one to light the fire. It had been mildly alarming for Booth to read but, he supposed, Buffy had been cleared of any involvement and he should just give her the benefit of the doubt.

 

Then there was Rupert Giles. Booth was relieved to note that the Englishman’s visa was still valid and everything was perfectly legal. His medical history showed that, during his time in America, Giles had been subject to the same sort of injuries that Willow and Xander experienced, indicating that he wasn’t the one hurting them, which was reassuring. In England, he had been a curator at a prestigious museum prior to coming to America and he had studied extensively at Oxford. Booth wondered what had driven the man to leave the privileged life he must have led in Oxford in order to take up the librarian’s job at Sunnydale High. Maybe he got sick of looking at dead things and decided to focus on what could possibly be the liveliest thing in the world, the Californian teenager. Booth snorted at the thought, although he did make a mental note of it. It was unusual, even if it wasn’t illegal, for an individual to move overseas and to downgrade occupations dramatically.  

 

The last report was on Jenny Calender and it proved, by far, the most interesting, since up until two years ago, Jenny Calender didn’t exist. Prior to that, she’d been Janna Kalderash. For both identities, her criminal record was clear and there wasn’t anything outstanding in her medical background either. It was if she just got up one day and decided to anglicize her name. It puzzled Booth but he hadn’t interacted long enough with the woman to get a good understanding of her.

 

All in all, other than the question mark over the head of Willow’s computer teacher and the fact that Booth hadn’t had checks done on Joyce Summers and the mysterious Angel, mainly because he hadn’t met them when he’d contacted Chris and he’d never heard Angel’s last name being mentioned by any of the Sunnydale group (Booth wasn’t even sure whether or not Angel was the man’s real name or just an unfortunate nickname.)

 

Booth wasn’t overly concerned about any of the group. Naturally, though, he would be keeping an eye on the situation and staying in contact with Willow, but he was confident that Willow was safe where she was. She certainly was well cared for, if not by her adopted parents, then by her friends and the adult role models that she exposed herself to.

 

Booth passed the remaining checks over to Sweets before he switched on his computer, waiting for it to boot up while Sweets read. Once the computer was on, he opened up his email, smiling broadly when he spotted the new email from Willow. He opened it up, reading the message quickly before leaning back in his chair thoughtfully, wondering what to write in his reply.

 

Having finished his reading while Booth thought, Sweets put the folder on Booth’s desk and looked at Booth.

 

“So, what do you think of that?” Sweets asked.

 

“You’re the psychologist who can profile people, you tell me.” Booth sighed. Sweets nodded thoughtfully.

 

“Other than the mildly concerning injuries that Willow, Alexander Harris and Rupert Giles have experienced recently and the way that this Jenny Calender woman has changed name for no obvious reason, I didn’t see anything that worried me too much.”

 

Booth nodded in agreement. “I thought the same. I’m going to keep an eye on things though, you know, through emails and just keeping in contact with her.”

 

Sweets nodded approvingly, agreeing with Booth’s plan completely. There wasn’t anything, other than the medical records, that was really worrying, and none of Willow or Xander’s injuries had been anything more than a couple of cuts and bruises or some bruised bones. Nothing overly dangerous or life-threatening. It was concerning as to how the children might be getting hurt and Sweets was fairly sure that none of the people whose file he’d just read were responsible for the injuries. He was sure, though, that the injuries were connected to the high rate of mortality within Sunnydale, but how?

 

Booth straightened up on his chair, ready to reply to Willow’s email now that he’d had time to talk with Sweets about what they had discovered. Booth wasn’t planning on telling Willow that he’d looked up her and her friend’s pasts, even though he knew starting off their relationship with such a massive omission of truth was a bad idea. He hadn’t found out anything interesting enough that was worth mentioning, nothing he didn’t already know, anyway.

 

Sweets, sensing that he was no longer wanted… or needed in the room, hurried back to his own office, leaving Booth to his thoughts

 

 _‘Dear Willow,’_ Booth began to type into the new email, _‘coming back to work was made a lot better to find an email here waiting for me. Thanks. The flight was long, but we didn’t have much turbulence, thankfully. I didn’t get home until quite late though, which made getting up early for work bad. I really felt like your chocolate pancakes too, but because I slept in, I didn’t have time to use the recipe you gave me to make any. I’m going to make it for Parker over the weekend though._

_I’m glad your friends had a good night last night. I’m sort of glad you warned me about Angel. The resemblance is surprising. I can see how you came to the conclusion that he and I, and by extension you, are related._

_Are all of your friends only children? It must be very different for you to, all of a sudden, have a younger brother. I must admit, I thought the same as Xander did when I saw the photos of you when you were younger. There is a resemblance between you two, or at least there was when you were his age. Now you look so much like your mom._

_Christmas in Washington D.C. is very pretty. There’s lots of snow and there’s lots of lights up everywhere. It’s also very cold and the chance of getting snowed in at some point over the winter is pretty high, although it’s usually not until January or February. As long as you’re prepared for it and you are somewhere comfortable with someone you like, it isn’t too bad though. It’s a good excuse to have a day off work and just relax all day._

_I know that the Squints (scientists and such) at the Jeffersonian are looking forward to meeting you at some point and the next time I see them I will let them know you said hi and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. If I don’t email you again before then, happy Thanksgiving, Willow. I hope you have a good weekend. Do you have any plans?_

_If you want, I can call you so we can speak and you can talk to Parker. Just put your phone number on the next email you send me._

_I have to go and do some real work, unfortunately. Tell your friends I say hello and to tell them to have a happy Thanksgiving._

_Your dad, Seeley Booth.’_

 

Booth stopped typing and hit the send button before he sighed and began to sort through the work-related things that had accumulated on his desk during his absence.


	22. Chapter 22

The rest of the week leading up to Thanksgiving was busy, with a demon arriving in town with plans of world domination that needed Willow’s attention. In between school, researching the demon and how to kill it, and helping Buffy and Xander with their homework, Willow didn’t have the time to reply to the email she received from her father upon his return to work, except for a short reply where she gave him her phone numbers, both her mobile and Buffy’s home phone number, so he could call her over the weekend.

 

The demon was finally defeated, felled by a well-aimed crossbow bolt to its single eye by Buffy. The group had gone to the Bronze for the traditional post-slayage partying before Buffy and Willow walked back to Buffy’s house wearily. It had been a long week and they were both looking forwards to the Thanksgiving long weekend.

 

“Three days of no school when we can relax, sleep, and eat lots of yummy food.” Buffy smiled as she collapsed onto her bed. Willow flopped down beside her.

 

“Tell me about it. Even the thought of studying makes me feel tired right now.”

 

Buffy laughed. “Stop, Willow. You not wanting to study is an sign of the apocalypse.”

 

Willow giggled quietly. “I’m not that bad.”

 

Buffy looked across at her best friend with a sceptical look. Willow smiled sheepishly.

 

“Well, okay, maybe I am that bad,” she conceded. Buffy laughed.

 

“We wouldn’t have you any other way, Willow,” she said, throwing an arm over her best friend and pulling her close in a tight hug.

 

Willow gasped, “Buffy… can’t breathe.”

 

“Sorry,” Buffy apologised, loosening her grip. Willow sighed in relief.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“No problem. I think it might be time for all good little slayers and hackers to be in bed.”

 

Willow laughed, before breaking off into a wide yawn. “I agree.” She giggled before sliding wearily off Buffy’s bed.

 

‘Goodnight, Buffy.” Willow waved as she headed off towards her own room.

 

“Night, Willow,” Buffy said as she got up to go to the bathroom.

 

BtVS/BONES  


It was Saturday afternoon when the ringing of the phone disturbed Buffy and Willow as they chatted. Willow was doing her homework and Buffy was flicking through a magazine. Both girls heard Joyce answer the phone in the kitchen, so they knew they didn’t need to try and answer it.

 

“Willow, the phone is for you. It’s your father.”

 

“She can take it up here,” Buffy called, picking up the phone in her room and pressing a button that would connect Willow to Booth’s call before handing the phone over and sidling out of the room, leaving Willow to talk to her dad in privacy.

 

Willow waited until she heard the click which told her Joyce had put down her receiver before speaking.

 

“Dad?”

 

“Hey, Willow,” Booth said. “How are you?”  


“I’m good. I was glad to see that your plane ride was good, even if it was a little long. I’m sorry I haven’t written a long reply to your email. It’s just been really busy. We had lots of homework to do this last week and Giles decided that we needed to research something and decided that it needed to be done before Thanksgiving, which was annoying, but we got it done. But, yeah, it’s been really busy. How has your work been? Not too hard to get back to?” Willow babbled.

 

“No, it’s been fine; I got to see all my work friends. I just wanted to call to say hi and to tell you that I’ve got some people here who really want to talk to you.”

 

“Really, who is that?” Willow heard the phone being passed over to someone else.

 

“Hello?” a very young and nervous-sounding voice asked through the phone. Willow felt happiness swell up within her. It was Parker.

 

“Hi, is that Parker?”

 

“Yeah. You’re Willow, aren’t you? My big sister.”   

 

“Yep, that’s me.” Willow beamed excitedly. “I’ve wanted to speak to you for so long, Parker. Ever since Dad told me about you.”

 

“Did Daddy give you my photo, because I told him to give you a photo of me so you would know what I look like, because you live a long way away?”

 

“Yeah, he did. It lives next to my bed, so when my friends come over I can show them your photo and tell them all about my little brother.”

 

“Really?” Parker practically squealed with excitement

 

“You bet. They’re all really jealous, because none of them have little brothers or sisters.”

 

“I don’t have any either. I’ve only got you.”

 

“That’s okay. How is school? What’s your favorite subject?”

 

“School is fun. I like playing soccer and I like science, but not what we do at school. That’s boring. I like going to the lab with Daddy, because Dr. Hodgins always lets me help with the experiments and we make things blow up. What do you like doing at school?”

 

“I like all of my subjects, but I like computers, math and science the best.”

 

“Do you like blowing things up too?”

 

“I’ve never blown anything up,” Willow said. “But it sounds like fun.”

 

“One day, if your other mommy and daddy let you come, you should help Dr. Hodgins blow things up. It makes a big bang, but it’s not scary. Angela has lots of really cool computers. She even has one that makes 3D pictures. It looks really cool.”

 

“That sounds great. If I can come, I’ll have to go and see it.”

 

“And they work at a museum, so then you can see all the areas. I like looking at the dinosaurs and Dr. Bones tells me about all their bones and what they ate.”

 

Willow laughed. “Wow, that sounds so awesome. Is it snowing outside yet?  

 

“Yeah. I played in it yesterday at school with my friends. It was really fun and I threw lots of snowballs, until we got in trouble from the teacher. I like it when it snows, because that means Christmas is nearly here. Daddy and I always go and pick out a Christmas tree together the weekend before Christmas and we decorate it. Then on Christmas day I get to go and see him in the afternoon. What do you do at Christmas?”

 

Willow cringed. “At Christmastime, I go around to my friend’s house, and we watch Snoopy together, and we do the Snoopy dance. Then I go back home and make myself lots of yummy things to eat, and I’ll open up my present from my Mom and Dad.”

 

“When do you decorate your Christmas tree and make it pretty?”

 

Willow decided honesty was the best policy. “We never had one. My Mommy and Daddy don’t celebrate Christmas, so I only get a little present and they just give it to me.” The last few years, her little Christmas present, usually some little piece of jewelry, had simply been given to her before they left or it was sent in the mail, but Parker didn’t need to know that.

 

“Wow. My friend Tommy doesn’t celebrate Christmas either. I think it’s sad, but his birthday is near Christmas, so he still gets presents. Daddy, did you know that Willow’s never had a Christmas tree to decorate? She should help us decorate ours one time.” Willow smiled as Parker obviously talked to Booth. She heard Booth say something, but she couldn’t understand what it was.

 

“Daddy says to tell you that he’s making chocolate pancakes on the weekend. They sound really yummy, because I really like chocolate, and I really like pancakes. Did you teach him how to make them while he was visiting you?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Wow, you must be good at cooking. I’m too little to make anything yet, but sometimes I help my mommy with the dishes. Daddy says I have to give him back the phone now. Bye, Willow and happy Thanksgiving.”

 

“Happy Thanksgiving, Parker. Bye,” Willow farewelled, smiling fondly at the phone. There was some shuffling over the phone before Booth’s voice came back over the phone.

 

“Hi, did you enjoy that?”

 

“Yeah, he sounds so excited.”

 

“Yeah, well, it’s not everyday that you get to talk to the sister you’ve never spoken to before.”

 

“True,” Willow acknowledged.

 

“Um, sorry about the whole Christmas thing.”

 

“It’s okay, no harm done. He was just curious.” Willow smiled. She didn’t mind, it had been sweet, even if a little awkward.

 

“Um, here’s the other person I wanted you to talk to, my work partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan.”

 

“Oh, cool,” Willow waited as the phone changed hands again.

 

“Hello?” A woman’s voice echoed down the receiver.

 

“Dr. Brennan?” Willow asked.

 

“Hi, is this Willow?”

 

“Yeah, sorry. How are you?”

 

“I am fine. How are you today?”

 

“Really good, I can’t believe I’m talking to you and Dad and Parker. It’s great.”

 

“I’m glad that being able to talk to us has made you so happy. How is school?”

 

“Busy, trying to get all this stuff finished off between now and Christmas break is going to be hectic, but it’s like this every year, so it’s not too bad. We’re used to it. What about you, have you been busy?”

 

“I like to be busy, it keeps my mind active. In between cases I find that I have plenty of time for identifying and studying the bones we have at the Jeffersonian. I must admit, I was pleased for Booth when he told me about you. You sound like a very clever girl.”

 

“Um, thanks. My friends call me Net Girl, or Research Girl, because I’m good at book and computer and studying-related things,” Willow said.

 

“It sounds as if they are very apt nick names for you. It is common among adolescents for nicknames to be connected to certain characteristics of an individual, whether they are physical traits, or skills and strengths the person has that are unusual,” Brennan observed down the phone. Willow nodded.

 

“I think that makes sense,” she agreed, but not knowing quite what the expected response should have been.

 

“Anyway, I just wanted to wish you, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, a happy Thanksgiving.”

 

“Thanks, happy Thanksgiving.”

 

The phone was given back to Booth at that point.

 

“Hi, me again. Was that okay? Bones was with us, and Parker wanted to call you, and Bones wanted to get the chance as well, so I though it would be okay.”

 

“It was great. They sound like great people.”

 

“Yeah they are. Listen, I’ve gotta go. I miss you.”

 

“I kind of miss you too.”

 

“Don’t worry; we’ll see each other again soon. Love you, Willow.”

 

“I love you too, Dad. See you.”

 

“Bye.”   Booth hung up and Willow disconnected the call at her end. She paused for a moment before she flopped contentedly onto Buffy’s bed, a wide smile spreading across her face. It had been one of the best phone calls of her entire life. She’d gotten to talk to her little brother, who sounded adorable, and the woman that her father obviously admired, although she wasn’t sure about whether there was any romance between them. It would be cool, though. Dr. Brennan sounded like a very intelligent woman, who would make a good stepmother.    

Of course, Willow wasn’t going to say that out loud, just in case it was different in person, but on the phone she’d sounded nice enough.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow sat alone in her room at Buffy’s house. Thanksgiving had come and gone and now she was contemplating how she was going to broach the subject of her going to stay with Booth over Christmas with her parents.

 

She’d glanced at the email she had received form them, showing their itinerary and smiled. They had three days in Washington DC and it would be the best time for them and Booth to meet. Now she had to call them and arrange the meeting.

 

Exhaling slowly, Willow keyed through her address book until she found Ira’s number. Then she hit the call button, raising the device to her ear. It rang a few times before connecting.

 

“Hello, this is Ira Rosenberg.”  


“Hi, Dad.”

 

“Willow, what a pleasant surprise. How is school?”

 

“Fine. I have something to ask you.”

 

“Sure, what is it? Are you alright?”

 

“I’m good. You know how I found out I was adopted?”

 

“Yes. Your mother and I still care about you very much, though, regardless of that.”

 

“Would you still care about me if I went and found my biological father?”

 

“You… you were able to find him?” Ira sounded surprised. “Well done, Willow. That must have taken a great deal of work.”

 

“It did, but once I figured out where I needed to look, it was easier. I wrote an email to him and he replied to them. I sent him my DNA and he had it tested. The tests came back as being positive, that I was his daughter, and so he came to Sunnydale to visit me a couple of weekends ago.”

 

“Willow, are you sure that was a good idea?”

 

“Yes, it was great. I have a little brother or well… half-brother technically, and he’s so cute, and my dad is really nice and funny, and he’s invited me to come and stay with him over Christmas.”

 

“Willow, did you see evidence of him being your father. I mean, he’s not some dirty man trying to hurt you.”

 

“Well, I saw the DNA analysis, and, well, he is an FBI agent, so I figured he would be trustworthy.”

 

“An FBI agent? That explains where your inquisitiveness comes from then.” Ira laughed and Willow giggled.

 

“Um, he’s based in Washington DC, and I saw on your email that you were going to be in town for a few days next week, and I was wondering if you wanted to meet him, you know, so you could know him a little before I went and stayed with him for a bit, if you wanted to go.”

 

“That sounds like a good idea, Willow. Do you have his phone number so we could arrange a meeting?”

 

Willow nodded, even though Ira couldn’t see her and gave her adopted father her biological father’s phone number.

 

“I’ll talk to your mother. I can see how much this means to you. Then we’ll call him, how does that sound?”

 

“Thank you.” Willow smiled.

 

“Alright, Willow. I have to go now.”

 

“Okay then, bye.”

 

“Goodbye, Willow,” Ira said before he hung up. Willow relaxed against her pillow, glad that she didn’t have to talk to her mother after the fight the last time they had seen one another. Ira was much mellower than his wife and Willow had always found him easier to deal with when he was around.

 

She opened up her emails and hit the reply button next to Booth’s last email.      

 

 _‘To Dad,’_ she typed.

 

_‘Thanks for ringing me on the weekend. It was great being able to speak to you and Parker and Dr. Brennan. I hope the rest of your weekend was enjoyable. I had Thanksgiving with Buffy and Joyce, and Xander and Cordelia came over during the day. It was pretty quiet, and they went home before dinner so they could have it with their families._

_That wasn’t what I was going to write about though. My parents are going to be in Washington D.C. next week for a few days, and I thought that it would be a good chance for you to meet them, and for them to meet you. I think that if they met you, then they are more likely to let me visit you over Christmas. I spoke to Ira (my adopted dad) and he sounded impressed with the fact that you were an FBI agent._

_I think he was planning on talking to Sheila (adopted mom) before they contacted you to arrange a meeting. I gave them your work number, is that okay?_

_Everything else is going good here in Sunnydale. School’s still very busy with all the teachers trying to get things done before Christmas. I’ve been going to the Bronze with Buffy, Xander and Cordelia a few times a week, and we often meet up with Angel when we are there. Then Buffy and Angel will go off together for moonlight walks (They love doing that together,) while Xander, Cordy and me will head off together._

_On other nights, Buffy and I stay in and we study, or watch movies and have girly talks, which you probably aren’t interested in hearing about._      

      

_I just wanted to give you a heads up that you might get a call from my parents in the near-ish future. Tell Parker and the people at the lab I say hi._

 

_From your daughter, Willow.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the latest part. I hope you liked it. Writing Parker was fun (keep in mind that he’s only 6 years old at the moment)


	23. Chapter 23

Booth nervously shifted in his chair at the diner, waiting for Willow’s adopted parents to arrive. They had called him earlier that week, arranging to have dinner one evening. Booth had suggested the diner and the Rosenbergs agreed.

 

Glancing up at the door, Booth saw a well-dressed couple enter and knew that they were them. He recognized them from Sweets’ book firstly and secondly, the way Sheila Rosenberg moved told him that she was used to studying people. They both seemed to have him picked out reasonably easily too, because they walked right over to the booth he was sitting at.

 

“Special Agent Booth?” Ira Rosenberg asked. Booth nodded and offered Ira, and then Sheila, his had to shake. They both accepted the gesture and sat down opposite Booth. A waitress came over and took their orders, bringing them both coffees along with their meals.

 

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” Ira said and Booth nodded.

 

“It’s no problem, I wanted to meet you. You’ve done a great job raising Willow. She’s a wonderful girl.”

 

Sheila smiled. “Thank you. We’ve never had a problem with her.”

 

“Willow told us of your visit to Sunnydale,” Ira said. “It’s a pity that we only just missed you.”

 

“Yeah, at least we could meet up now.”  

  

“She said that you have invited her to visit you over the Christmas vacation?” Sheila said. Booth nodded.

 

“Yeah, I’ve got a son, Willow’s half-brother, and he really wants to meet her. I would like to be able to spend some more time with her as well.”

 

“We never planned on telling Willow she was adopted, not before her 18th birthday, at least. She found her birth certificate by accident up in the attic, but she sounds so happy about finding you,” Ira said.

 

“I didn’t approve of Willow’s decision to track you down, but then when she spoke to Ira on the phone she was so excited that she’d found you. I knew she’d done the right thing for her. Do you know what happened to Willow’s mother?” Sheila asked

 

“She died, Mrs. Rosenberg, about a year after Willow was born,” Booth quietly informed them. Carmen’s death still hurt him to talk about.

 

“Poor thing,” Ira said. Sheila nodded in agreement.

 

“Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg, I promise that I’ll keep Willow safe while she’s here. Nothing will happen to her, I give you my word.”

 

“Your reassurance means a lot to us, Special Agent Booth,” Sheila responded politely.

 

“What does the Christmas vacation mean to you and your family, Special Agent Booth?”

 

“I was raised a Catholic and I plan on attending Mass on Christmas Eve, but I understand that Willow has been raised Jewish, so I don’t expect her to come with me. She can make her own choice if she wants to or not, and I’ll respect whichever choice she makes. On the afternoon of Christmas day, I will pick up my son and he’ll spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s with me. I have that week off and we’ll spend some time together, go to some parks, play some sports, and play in the snow together. We might spend some time with my work colleagues over the week. Then my son will go back to his mom and I’ll have a few more days off work, assuming I don’t get called in. Christmas is an important time of year for me and I cherish spending time with my son at this time of year. Christmas is about family and spending time with the ones that you love. For me that now includes Willow, as well the rest of my family.”

 

Ira and Sheila looked touched by Booth’s words and he discreetly crossed his fingers under the table. The couple exchanged a glance and Ira slightly inclined his head at Sheila.

 

“Special Agent Booth, I am glad you have seen fit to take Willow into our heart as you have and we give our full consent to Willow spending her Christmas vacation with you. Ira and I will be out of the country at the time, so she will be your responsibility. We trust that you will look after her as much as we have and that you will ensure that she is able to return to Sunnydale prior to the commencement of the school term so she will not miss any of her classes. She isn’t to leave Sunnydale until after the end of the school term. Any homework she has is to be taken with her on the trip.”

 

“Of course, I understand how important Willow’s education is to you, and to her,” Booth nodded, surprised at how little convincing it had taken. Parker was going to be thrilled that he was going to have the opportunity to meet his big sister and Willow sounded curious about the Capitol in her emails. It was going to be one of the best Christmases ever.

 

“Alright. Do you require any money to pay for airline tickets or food?” Sheila asked, her tone all business. Booth shook his head. He wasn’t rich, but he could afford Willow’s flight costs easily enough.

 

Ira and Sheila nodded, finishing off their meals and their drinks.

 

“I’m afraid we must go, we have an early start in the morning,” Sheila apologized.

 

“It’s alright. Thank you for giving me this opportunity with Willow. It means a lot.”

 

“It’s what will make Willow happy,” Ira smiled, tossing some notes onto the table to cover his and Sheila’s meals and drinks. Booth got up and shook hands with both of the Rosenbergs.

 

“I’ll call Willow tonight and tell her the news,” Sheila told him as they shook hands.

 

“Here’s my card, if you want to contact me for whatever reason.” Booth smiled, handing over his business card. Ira accepted it with a nod.

 

“Thank you, Special Agent Booth. We’ll probably see you again soon.”

 

“Probably,” Booth agreed with a smile, waving as the couple said their goodbyes and left him at the diner. He watched from a window as they got into a passing taxi and sped off into the night. Booth looked back at the table and grinned. Willow’s parents were allowing her to spend Christmas with him. The meeting had given him the best possible outcome, although it had been much… shorter than he expected it to have been. Not for the first time Booth wondered how much Ira and Sheila really cared about Willow. It had been awfully easy to talk them into allowing Willow, their adopted daughter, to stay at his house. Him… someone they didn’t know. They hadn’t even asked to see his badge or the DNA report.

 

Dismissing it from his mind for the time being, Booth tossed a note of his own alongside the ones Ira had put down before hurrying out of the diner. Turning his collar up against the cold wind that was blowing through the streets, he imagined what it would be like to bring Willow home.

      

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she hung up her mobile phone. She beamed across the library table at Buffy, Xander and Cordelia.

 

“Good news, I take it?” Buffy asked, smiling at the look on her best friend’s face. Willow nodded.

 

“I’m going to spend Christmas in D.C.,” she squealed. “My mom and dad met up with, you know, my other dad and they decided that I could go and spend the Christmas vacation with him and my little brother.”

 

“That’s great, Willow.” Xander smiled at her over his textbooks. Cordelia nodded in agreement before returning her attention to the heavy book about demons she was reading for Giles. Willow too had a demon-focused text in front of her. Buffy was doing her homework as well, as she was a little behind and wanted to patrol later that evening.

 

“Good news, everyone, I’ve found the demon that Buffy saw last night,” Giles said as he emerged from the office. Cordelia groaned in relief.

 

“Thank God, that means I can stop looking.”

 

“Is it big and bad and requiring slaying?” Buffy asked eagerly. Giles stopped and took off his glasses.

 

“Well, no. It should be relatively easy for you to slay. A stake to the heart will destroy it. Make sure you take Angel with you for some back up, though.”

 

“I’m on it.” Buffy closed her books and gathered her things together. Willow got her things together, still smiling eagerly.

 

“My adopted parents met Special Agent Booth. I’m allowed to go and spend Christmas with him,” she explained to Giles, who smiled happily at her.

 

“Willow, that is wonderful news. I’m sure you will have a wonderful time.”

 

“Hey, Willow, you’re going to get a white Christmas,” Xander said. Willow paused. She’d honestly forgotten that Washington D.C. got cold over the winter.

 

“Yeah, I will. That’ll be fun.”

 

“It is quite nice,” Giles said, a wistful look on his face as he remembered the many Christmases he had celebrated in England with the fields blanketed in snow. “Make sure you pack warm clothing, though.”

 

“Christmas isn’t for another couple of weeks though. I’m looking forward to it so much. It’s so exciting,” Willow babbled, almost bounding on her toes. Buffy approached her from behind and placed two calming hands on Willow’s shoulders.

 

“Breathe, Willow. Come on, we’ll head home. Mom will have dinner ready soon, and then I can go find Angel so we can go slay.”

 

“Sounds good, see you guys tomorrow.”

 

Xander and Cordy waved as they packed up the books they had been reading, and Giles went back to his office to collect his suitcase and jacket. Willow and Buffy hurried from the otherwise deserted building toward Buffy’s house. It wasn’t dark yet, but it was getting late in the afternoon and the shadows had grown long as the sun sank towards the horizon.  

 

“Giles is right though, you’ll need some really warm clothes to wear if you’re going to spend Christmas with your dad. We should go shopping. It’ll be fun.”

 

Willow paused, thinking about what clothes she had. Buffy was right and Willow couldn’t picture much of her winter wardrobe being warm enough to withstand snow, especially if she was going to spend time outside, which was highly possible if Parker was going to be there. She knew little boys needed to spend time outside to run around. Maybe they could have a snowball fight.

 

“That would probably be a good idea, Buffy. I think I need some knew winter clothes, and I’ll need to buy presents for my dad and my little brother too. What do six-year-old little boys like?”

 

Buffy shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe you could ask what Parker likes the next time you email him. Ask him what he likes too, then you’re sure to get them something that they like.”

 

Willow frowned at the thought of asking, since it did somehow take away the element of surprise, but she figured there wasn’t much she could do about it. She didn’t know them very well after all, and at least by asking she could be sure that they would be getting what they want rather than something that was just going to be left in a cupboard and forgotten about.

 

It probably explained why her parents had given her money for every birthday she had had since her tenth birthday. It certainly seemed like the easiest way to go when you didn’t know.

 

Joyce was just putting the finishing touches on dinner when Buffy and Willow arrived at the Summers’ house, so the two girls dropped their bags of in their respective rooms and washed their hands. Willow helped serve up and then they ate together.

 

Afterwards, Buffy and Willow helped clear the table and dried the dishes while Joyce washed. Then they both went up to their rooms. Buffy got changed into her slaying gear and loaded up on stakes and holy water, slipping out her window so she could meet with Angel since the sun had long since vanished. Willow finished off her homework from the day before she switched on her laptop, curling up on the bed with the device on her lap. She opened up a new email message and began to type.

 

 _‘To Dad,’_ she typed.

 

_‘Sheila called me after school today and told me about your meeting. She sounded very impressed with you. I can’t believe that she and Ira are letting me come and spend Christmas with you. I am taking this opportunity to accept your invitation. I would love to come and visit you and Parker over the Christmas vacation. I’m really excited. Christmas is still such a long way away. (I know I sound like a little kid, but that’s how excited I am about it. It’s going to be great.)_

_Speaking of little kids, do you have any suggestions about what I could give Parker for Christmas? I don’t know any little boys and I have no idea what is in at the moment. On the same note, what would you like for Christmas? I feel kind of funny asking, because it sort of takes away the element of surprise, but at least you’ll be getting something that you and Parker want._

_How’s your work going? I’ll keep this short, because you’re probably busy, but I just wanted to send you an email about how excited I am about coming to visit._

_Be seeing you soon._

_Willow.’_


	24. Chapter 24

Willow pulled the lid of her suitcase down, closing it, before she did up the zipper and fastened the locks. Satisfied that the suitcase was closed, she stepped away from the bed, which had her suitcase resting on it, and looked across at Buffy, who was watching her from the doorway.  
  
“It’s not that full,” Buffy pointed out. Willow nodded, the suitcase hadn’t been anywhere near full, but it was a large suitcase. She was going to be away visiting Booth for two weeks and even doing laundry while she was away, that meant a lot of clothes, most of which Cordelia and Buffy had helped her pick out, as well as the presents she had brought for her father and Parker.  
  
“Yes, but you’re not supposed to fill it, that way you can bring stuff back,” Willow told the blonde slayer, who laughed.  
  
“Yeah, I guess so,” Buffy agreed, stepping over the threshold into the room. “Are you sure you’ve got everything?”  
  
Willow smiled playfully. “Yes, Mom.” She rolled her eyes. Buffy groaned.  
  
“Kill me now, I’ve become my mother.”  
  
“There are worse people that you could become. Like my mom.” Willow faded off and Buffy was at her side instantly, wrapping her arms around her best friend.  
  
“Hey, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Buffy apologized.  
  
“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who brought up my mom.”  
  
Buffy shrugged and continued to hold Willow. “I know, I just don’t like seeing you upset. Are you sure you want to go and do this?”  
  
Willow nodded. “Yes, more than anything. I have a little brother and an uncle and a great-grandfather that I’ve never met, not to mention I can meet the people that my dad works with at the FBI and at the Jeffersonian. Did you know that they have a really high case clearance? You know, they get these bodies that are completely not-normal-looking, you can’t even tell who they once were and they can work out who the people were, how they died, when they died and if they were murdered, who did it,” Willow babbled.  
  
Buffy laughed. “Geez, Willow, anyone would think that you respected these guys,” she teased.   
  
Willow pouted. “But it’s cool, don’t you think?”  
  
“Yes, Willow, it’s very cool, except I’d like to see them do their thing to a victim of a demon or a vampire or something. I’m sure it would be put down to wild dog attack or barbeque fork stab wound to the neck.”   
  
Willow giggled, imagining what Booth would look like as he tried to puzzle out a vampire killing. In her mind, Booth’s face morphed into Angel’s when he was completely confused by something. Obviously Buffy was thinking along the same track, because both of the girls burst into gales of laughter at the same time.  
  
“I can’t believe that you might be related to Angel,” Buffy gasped once they had stopped laughing. “I mean, how could you not be when you look at the resemblance between your dad and Angel, but still.”  
  
Willow shrugged, stepping out of Buffy’s arms so she could sit on the bed.  
  
“I don’t know. If I get the chance I’ll try to do some research into the family tree while I’m there.”  
  
“No pressure or anything. I mean, it’s not like it’s going to be legitimate. I’m pretty sure Angel would have mentioned to me if he’d been married before, it might be hard to get evidence, unless, you know, your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother kept a really detailed diary, or something like that, and I know DNA testing is good but would it work that far back? Would it even work, considering Angel’s a vampire?”  
  
“Buffy,” Willow interrupted, “You’re threatening my title as chief babbler.”  
  
“Oh, sorry.” Buffy laughed. “I’m sure your title is safe Willow. No one can babble like you.”  
  
Willow grinned. “That’s good to know.”  
  
The two girls started giggling loudly again.  
  
“Is there something that I missed?” asked Xander from the doorway, watching his two best friends as they laughed. Both girls looked up at him, shaking their heads but smiling at the same time. Not feeling very reassured, Xander entered the room and leaned against Willow’s desk.  
  
“All packed?” he asked.  
  
“Yep, and I‘ve double- and triple-checked that I haven’t forgotten anything.” Willow nodded.  
  
“I’m going to miss you, who’s going to do the Snoopy dance with me this year?”  
  
Willow smiled. “I’m sure you could convince Buffy or Cordelia to do it with you and I’ll be there in spirit. If my dad has a Charlie Brown Christmas movie, I’ll teach it to Parker.”  
  
Buffy snorted. “I am so not going to be doing the Snoopy dance with you, Xander Harris. I don’t do dances from children’s movies.  
  
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Willow sighed. “Hey, maybe Angel would do it?”  
  
And that sent the three of them into gales of laughter again.  
  
BtVS/BONES  
  
Willow was quiet as she sat in the front seat of Giles’ car as he drove her to the airport so she could catch her flight. In the back seat, Buffy and Xander were talking about their plans for the Christmas vacation but Willow wasn’t paying any attention to them. She was thinking of finally getting to Washington. The weeks since it had been confirmed that she was going to visit her father and then today, the day she was actually leaving, had seemed to drag and for the first time in her entire life Willow found herself really looking forward to the Christmas vacation from school. She’d almost joined the other students in cheering when the last pre-Christmas classes and exams were finished.   
  
Now, though, Willow’s stomach was churning and she was certain that it wasn’t because of the reasonably long flight ahead of her.  
  
“Willow, relax, you’re going to be fine,” Xander said from his seat behind her. “You two got along fine when he was here in Sunnydale and, just think, this time we aren’t going to have to worry about him finding out about vampires and the Hellmouth.”  
  
“Xander does present a good point. I assume you’ve packed precautions, though?” Giles said from the driver’s seat. Willow swallowed her nerves and nodded.  
  
“Yes, a couple of crosses, a couple of stakes and a bottle of holy water.”  
  
“Good.” Giles nodded approvingly at Willow before refocusing on the road, which was becoming increasingly busy the closer they got to L.A.  
  
Willow fell silent as Giles drove into the car park at the airport. Finding a parking space took awhile, so they all hurried to the domestic departures area of the airport. Willow checked in her suitcase and they all went through security and walked out to the boarding gate. Eventually the announcer on the P.A. system said that Willow’s flight was boarding, so Willow got up, turning to face the others, who were sitting down.  
  
“So, I guess this is it,” she said. Xander pulled her into a hug.  
  
“You’ll be fine, Willow and it’s only for two weeks. It’s going to fly and it will seems as if we’ll be back here picking you up in no time at all. Tell your Dad I say hi and tell your little brother that I said that he has to do the Snoopy dance with you, okay.”  
  
Willow gave a shaky nod and buried her head in Xander’s shoulder, breathing in his smell deeply. It would be one of the longest periods of time they had ever been separated for and Willow was going to miss him. “You’ll call?” she asked hopefully. Xander snorted.  
  
“Every day.”  
  
“Maybe not that often. Cordelia might get the wrong idea, not to mention my dad. Once every three or four days is fine.” Willow smiled. Xander used the pad of his thumb to wipe the tears that Willow hadn’t realized had fallen from her cheeks.   
  
“See you when you come back. Don’t turn into a Popsicle while you’re gone.” Xander grinned before pulling back. He was immediately replaced by Buffy.  
  
“I’m going to miss you, Will. I’ve liked having you live with me and Mom. The house is going to seem so quiet now; not that you made much noise to begin with, but you know what I mean. Mom’s liked having you come and stay with us too. I know she has. She’ll miss you too. We all will.”  
  
“Thanks, Buffy.” Willow smiled.  
  
“You have fun. Remember, you’re on vacation. No studying or researching. You’re supposed to be having fun and getting to know your family.”  
  
Willow laughed. “Yes, Buffy, I know.”  
  
“That’s good. We’ll see you soon then and don’t let Xander take up all your phone time. I want to get updates too.”  
  
“All right, Buffy.”   
  
“Be careful, Willow. Although it’s not a Hellmouth, Washington D.C., like any other large city, is very dangerous. Don’t go out alone at night. Remember, not all dangers are demonic in nature, humans can be dangerous too,” Giles cautioned as Buffy moved away.  
  
“I know, Giles.” Willow nodded seriously.  
  
“And do take care of yourself but most importantly, like Buffy said, have a good time. You’ve more than deserved it after the last year.”  
  
“I will, Giles,” Willow promised   
  
Giles sniffed and Willow leaned in so he could hug her. Giles rubbed her back.  
  
“You should go or you’ll miss your plane.”  
  
“All right Giles, you’re going to come and get me?”  
  
“I wouldn’t miss it. I look forward to hearing all your stories about your trip and your family.”  
  
“Thanks, Giles, I look forward to it too.” Willow pulled away, looking up at the Watcher’s face and smiling before she picked up her backpack and shoulder bag and, grasping her boarding pass in her hand, went over to the desk. She passed through without a hitch and she looked back over her shoulder, waving at the rest of the Scooby Gang, before she walked through the gate and down the ramp towards the plane.  
  
BtVS/BONES   
  
The whole flight, Willow felt her nerves coiling up inside her. She had a window seat, so she watched the clouds as the plane seemed to skim across the top. She tried to distract herself by guessing what the ground beneath the clouds looked like.  
  
The plane was full, which Willow wasn’t surprised by, considering the time of year it was but since she was a minor traveling alone, she was up the front near the air hostesses. There were a few other young people up the front with her and they were chatting to one another happily, even though from Willow understood, none of them knew the others. Willow was sitting next to a boy who was about ten.  
  
“Hi, I’m Jack, what’s your name?”  
  
“I’m Willow.”  
  
“Are you heading to Washington for Christmas?” he asked brightly.  
  
“Yes, I’m going to visit my dad.”  
  
“Are your mom and dad split up? Mine too. I live with mom most of the time but she’s a lawyer in L.A. and Dad works in Washington D.C. I get to spend all of my school holidays with him.”   
  
Willow found herself smiling at the openness of the little boy, “I’m going to meet my dad for the second time. It’s the first time I’ve been to Washington D.C. I’ve never been this far from home before.”  
  
“But you’re, like, old,” Jack said, looking at Willow in surprise. “You’re going to love it. The snow looks so cool. Dad was talking to me on the phone the other night and he said that they had heaps of snow. I’m going to ask if we can make a snowman this afternoon when we get back to his house. How come you’ve only seen your dad once before?”  
  
“I live with my adopted mom and dad. I only found out about my real dad just after Halloween. He came and visited me a few weeks ago and now I’m going to visit him and my little brother.”  
  
“Wow, you must be so excited.”  
  
“Actually, I’m really nervous.”  
  
“Don’t be, your daddy will love you.”  
  
“How do you know that?” Willow asked. Jack blinked up at her.  
  
“Because, that’s what all daddies do,” he told her, his voice thick with conviction. Willow found herself smiling before she was distracted by the announcement overhead that they were beginning their descent to Washington D.C. Willow changed the time on her watch and put her tray back up before watching as they began to descend through the clouds. It was a little bumpy but Willow knew that it was normal. Jack peered around Willow excitedly as they broke through the cloud bank, and Willow got her first sight of Washington D.C.


	25. Chapter 25

Willow nervously walked beside Jack up the ramp into the arrivals lounge. She could see the groups of people waiting to collect their loved ones off the plane. She scanned the crowd, searching for sight of Booth, as Jack gave an excited squeal and sprinted from her side, throwing himself into the arms of a waiting man with whom he shared a strong resemblance. Willow smiled at the sight of her young friend being reunited with his father before she resumed her search for her own.

 

She soon spotted him, beaming at the sight of her. Willow hurried over to him and he pulled her into a one-armed hug.

 

“Hi,” Willow smiled.

 

“Hey, did you have a good flight?” Booth asked. Willow nodded.

 

“Yeah, it was great. The city looked so pretty after we’d gotten down through the clouds. Everything was white because of the snow.”

 

“I thought you’d like that. How were the last few days of school? How did your exams go?”  


“My exams went fine, I didn’t have a problem, I think this is the first time I’ve really looked forward to school vacation, though usually I like being at school, but I just wanted to get up here and see you and meet Parker and all the other people you’ve told me about.”

 

Booth laughed and began to lead Willow to the baggage claim area. Willow spotted Jack walking with his father and waved and the little boy waved back at her.

 

“Friend of yours?” Booth asked as they reached the baggage carousel, his voice thick with amusement. Willow shrugged.

 

“He was next to me on the plane; they put all the minors travelling alone together, up the front, so the flight attendants can look after them. We talked a bit.”

 

“Ah,” Booth said, nodding in understanding. Willow watched as the luggage started to arrive and they fell into a silence, with Willow watching for her suitcase to show up and Booth watching Willow, revelling in the fact that she was finally with him.

 

Booth found himself taking the sight of his daughter. Willow hadn’t changed in the few weeks since he had last seen her but it was still a novelty for him to look at his daughter. He was still in shock that the petite, shy little red-haired sixteen-year-old girl was his daughter. It reminded him of when Parker was a newborn, how long he and Rebecca had spent just sitting and watching the little baby as he slept, cooing and gushing in delight at the littlest things he’d done.

 

Of course, at the time Booth didn’t know that there was another child out in the world who carried his DNA, one that had long since passed through the first smile-and-babble stage (although babbling was debatable, she still did it often), and was instead in that awkward stage in between being a child and being a adult.

Willow’s movement drew Booth from his musing and he watched as she collected her suitcase from the carousel. She hauled it back to where he was standing, smiling as she set it down to organize her bags and the handle, so she could pull it along on its wheels.

 

Booth smiled at Willow. “You all ready to go?” he asked. Willow beamed and nodded.

 

“Uh-huh, I have everything now. All ready to go.”

 

“Great.” Booth nodded, taking Willow’s suitcase from her gently and leading the way out of the airport. Willow saw Jack on the way out with his father and the little boy waved happily at her. Willow waved in reply before she followed her father from the airport.

 

Willow followed behind Booth as he took her through the car park until they reached his SUV. Booth put her suitcase in the back and Willow put her backpack in the back as well before she got into the front seat. Booth jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

 

“Everyone’s really looking forward to meeting you,” Booth told her as he drove from the airport car park.

 

“Really? I’ve been looking forward to meeting everyone too. I think Buffy and Xander and the others are all glad that I’ve gone, because I’ve been talking about coming here so much, even though Buffy and Cordelia were happy because I got them to help me get some stuff to bring with me, because it’s not as cold in Sunnydale as it is here,” Willow babbled excitedly. Booth chuckled and kept driving. Willow’s eyes widened as they left the multi-story car park and she saw the snow that lay on the ground.

 

“The snow’s very pretty,” she commented to Booth, who chuckled.

 

“You’re acting like you haven’t seen snow before.”

 

Willow’s cheeks tinged pink and she dropped a gaze. Booth frowned, interpreting the gesture.

 

“You haven’t, have you?

 

Willow shook her head. “No, Sunnydale’s too close to the beach for it to snow and it’s not cold enough. Before I came here, the farthest I’d ever been from home was L.A. and it was never snowing when I was there.”

 

Booth smiled reassuringly. “Well, now you get to see it for yourself. Parker and I will teach you everything there is to know about snow. I’ll have you know that we Booths are well known for their skills at snowball making.”

 

Willow smiled shyly in Booth’s direction and giggled before refocusing her attention outside, watching the different buildings go by.

 

“You came up at a good time. The Jeffersonian Christmas party is tomorrow night and I’ve been told that I have to bring you.”

 

“That sounds like it would be fun,” Willow commented. Booth cringed.

 

“Let’s just hope that we don’t get trapped in the lab again. Damn Hodgins.”

 

“You got trapped in the lab?” Willow asked, her eyebrows quirked in disbelief. Booth coughed.

 

“Well, it’s kind of a long story…” he began.

 

BtVS/BONES

    

By the time Booth got through the afternoon rush hour traffic and pulled over at the Royal Diner, he’d gotten through the whole story of how they’d all gotten stuck in the lab, waiting to see if they had fallen ill after being exposed to the fever. Willow had thoroughly enjoyed the tale, especially the parts where her father and his friends had given each other gifts and had decorated the lab. Now that the car had stopped though, Willow eyed the Diner nervously.

 

“A couple of the squints wanted to meet you tonight, so we arranged to meet up tonight. I hope that’s okay with you, it won’t be a long night, I promise.”

 

Willow swallowed nervously and shook her head. She had been looking forward to meeting Booth’s work friends, along with the other people he knew, but now that the moment was upon her, her mouth had gone dry and she was nervous. What if they didn’t like her? What if they thought she wasn’t good enough for her father and encouraged him to send her back home on the spot? She was drawn from her musings by Booth’s hand on her shoulder.

 

“Hey, you’re okay, it’s going to be fine, they’ll like you, I promise,” Booth said reassuringly, seeing the fear written clearly all over Willow’s face. Willow took a steadying breath and nodded before climbing from the car, grabbing her handbag to take it with her. Booth got out as well and locked the car before he took Willow’s hand loosely and leading her into the restaurant.

 

Willow could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she followed her father into the diner. Her gaze flittered across the people within the diner before finally setting on the group of people in a couple of booths that her father was leading her towards. There was six of them waiting there, smiling and waving to Booth and looking at her curiously. Willow felt like she was being tested and stepped a little closer to Booth, terrified that she would fail and prove to be a disappointment to him.

 

Booth squeezed her hand, grinning at her before he led the way up to the group.

 

“Hi, Booth,” one of them, a woman with brown hair and blue eyes, said.

 

“Bones, how’s things going?”

 

“Fine,” the woman replied, smiling at Booth. Booth put his arm around Willow.

 

“Guys, this is my daughter, Willow. Willow, these are the squints. This is Dr. Temperance Brennan, that’s Dr. Jack Hodgins and Angela Montenegro, over here is Dr. Cam Saroyen, and over there is Dr. Zach Addy and Dr. Lance Sweets.” Booth pointed out each of them in turn. Willow nodded shyly.

 

“Hi.” She waved and the others smiled.

 

“Naw, Booth, she’s cute. How’s it going, sweetie? Did you have a good flight?” Angela smiled. Willow shrugged.

 

“It was all right, there wasn’t much turbulence, and I didn’t think it was too long.” Willow shrugged in reply. The rest of the group shuffled around and Booth slid onto the seat and Willow sat down beside him, glad that she didn’t need to sit down beside someone she didn’t know. As it was the group was spread put in two different booths. Hodgins, Angela, Zach and Sweets were in one, while Booth, Willow, Brennan and Cam were in the other.

 

“Booth tells us that you’re in your junior year of high school. Are you enjoying it?” Cam asked conversationally. Willow nodded.

 

“Yeah, it’s good; I like going to school and learning things.”

 

“Booth said that in your emails that you like science and math,” Brennan commented. Willow smiled.

 

“Yeah, and computers. I like using computers, researching, programming, you know, stuff like that, but I like math and science as well. It makes sense, well, to me anyway, not so much for my friends, so I have to help them a lot, but that’s okay because I like doing that, and I’m babbling. You need to stop me when I do that because it gets a bit embarrassing.”

 

Willow ducked her head and Hodgins snorted, only to be smacked in the arm by Angela.

 

“Sorry, Willow,” Booth apologized and Willow grabbed a menu off the table and began to look through it.

 

“It’s okay, Xander and Buffy always used to forget too.” Willow shrugged.

 

“So, Willow, how did your end-of-term exams go?” Cam asked, fishing around for something to say.

 

“They were good, I didn’t have much trouble with them, but then I did kind of throw myself into study this time around, to distract me from thinking about coming up here for the holidays, otherwise I would have driven my friends insane.” Willow smiled sheepishly and Cam laughed.

 

“And now that exams are over you can enjoy yourself,” she added. Willow nodded.

 

“Something like that. You’re Dr. Saroyen, aren’t you? Are you the one I had to send the DNA to?”

 

“Yep, that was me, just call me Cam though. I’m a pathologist, among other things, at the lab. I handle all the… non-bone details.”

 

“Cam,” Booth said warningly.

 

“It’s okay; it’s kind of cool, that you guys catch the bad guys… and girls… out there. Makes me feel safer, that’s for sure, even though, you know, you guys are up here and I’m usually in Sunnydale and I don’t think you’d have ever gone as far as Sunnydale, since it’s almost as far away from here as you can get within the continental US.”

 

“I’m sure there’s a team close to you that does a similar job,” Cam said reassuringly.

 

“Actually there isn’t. The closest forensic anthropologist to Sunnydale is in Phoenix, Arizona.”

 

“Dr. Brennan, I was trying to be reassuring,” Cam said between clenched teeth. Bones’ eyes widened.

 

“Oh, I understand now.” She turned to face Willow. “I wouldn’t worry; many investigative teams are able to solve murders without the assistance of a designated forensic anthropologist.”

 

“That’s real reassuring, sweetie,” Angela said sarcastically, peering over from her place in the next booth. “Ignore them, Willow.”

 

“Um, okay,” Willow managed, unable to stop herself from thinking that even a well-known and respected forensic anthropologist like Dr. Brennan would have trouble identifying Willow’s cause of death if she were killed through her involvement in the supernatural. Dr. Brennan didn’t seem the type to believe in something that wasn’t supposed to be real, not without a lot of evidence anyway.

 

At that point a waitress come over and took their orders before taking the menus away. Willow shifted nervously in her seat, unsettled by the idea of ending up on Dr. Brennan’s autopsy table. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, trying to focus on the present. She wasn’t going to die, not just yet anyway.    

 

“Has Booth told you about the Jeffersonian Christmas Party?” Cam asked conversationally. Willow nodded, glad for the subject change.

 

“Yeah, it sounds like a great night. I’m really looking forward to it. Booth told me about the year that you were all trapped in the lab.”

 

“Ahh, the memories,” Angela grinned from where she leaned over from the next booth.

 

“Don’t tell me you enjoyed that,” Hodgins said from beside her.

 

“Well, it wasn’t the ideal way to spend some of Christmas but you’ve got to admit, it was enjoyable,” Angela defended.

 

“I liked being able to spend time with you all over the holidays. It felt like I was able to spend time with both of my families,” Zach added. Jack rolled his eyes, although Sweets looked intrigued by the comment.

 

“Dude, you spend almost every day with us at work and you live in the apartment above my garage. Why are the holidays any different?”

 

“Exactly, I spend so much time with you all, hence I have come to view you as a second family that I am privy to belonging to, and holidays are time that you spend with family, therefore, spending time with you all over the holidays was nice,” Zach explained.

 

“Whatever.” Booth rolled his eyes, wincing as he felt Brennan kick him under the table for the insensitive comment. Zach bobbed down back to his seat, as did Sweets, probably to interrogate his fellow baby squint further on his feelings about that particular episode of his life. Angela turned to face Willow.

 

“Oh, and sweetie, you’ve got to help me make sure I don’t photocopy my butt after too many eggnogs or something, okay?”

 

Willow’s jaw dropped. “Umm…”

 

“Seriously, it gets annoying when after every year every male member of the staff, particularly a certain bugs-and-slime guy who shall remain nameless,” she shot a pointed look at Hodgins, who had the decency to look semi-sheepish, “seems to have pictures of my butt plastered all over their lab and have the cheek… no pun intended… to say that it’s simply a however-million-times magnification image of some bug. I know my ass when I see it.”

 

“I’ll do my best,” Willow managed to say as Booth snorted into his cup of coffee.


	26. Chapter 26

Willow poked her tongue between her teeth as she fiddled with her hair, trying to get the long red strands to sit the way she wanted them to. Normally she wouldn’t care about it but she was going with her father (as his plus one… which was exciting because she’d never been plus anything before, except for getting A plusses at school) to the Jeffersonian Christmas party and she wanted to make a good impression and to be presentable enough that her father would be proud to introduce her as his daughter.

 

Willow finally slid the last pin into place and smiled at herself in the mirror. Sure, she wasn’t nearly as pretty as Buffy and Cordelia and she wasn’t very good and doing her own hair up nice, but at least she looked presentable. She glanced down at the clothes she was wearing, glad that Buffy and Cordelia had taken her shopping for some new clothes. She was wearing a knee length black dress with streaks of dark green worked into the soft material. She’d also a brought a matching dark green jacket and had pulled on some strappy black shoes.

 

Satisfied that she was ready, Willow walked out of the bathroom of Booth’s apartment and headed back to the bedroom so she could put away her things. She smiled as she looked around the small guest bedroom. There wasn’t much room in it, a big double bed and a dresser and a desk almost filled it, but it was cozy and Willow felt comfortable in there. She put her things in her suitcase and picked up her jacket from off the bed along with her handbag. She walked out of her room, heading towards the living room.

 

Booth had gone to work that day, his last day until after Christmas, so Willow had been alone in his apartment. Booth had offered to fake being ill so he could stay home with her but Willow had shaken her head and shooed him out the door. She’d entertained herself be doing a bit of reading, for once not school- or research-connected but instead some old cushy classic romance novels, and she’d had an afternoon nap, just because she could, and she guessed that it was going to be a late night, not that she wasn’t used to it.

 

Now she was waiting for Booth to come and collect her on his way from the Hoover building to the Jeffersonian. Willow found herself looking forward to it. The previous night Dr. Saroyen, or as she insisted Willow call her, Cam, had offered to organize a personalized tour of the lab and the museum for Willow and Willow had happily agreed, looking forward to it. The Jeffersonian looked like an interesting place to visit and Willow, always a keen learner, anticipated that a personalized tour would be highly educational and with a bit of luck, it would be far more interesting than the psychology conferences in LA her mother had taken her to up until Willow was about fifteen.

 

Willow sat down on the couch and looked around the apartment. The place reminded her strongly of Booth. The movies and books on the shelf were a mixture of action, comedy and sports, with a good selection of children’s movies on the lower shelves, obviously for Parker’s benefit when he came to stay. The apartment was tidy but still felt lived in, the exact opposite of the sterile, impersonal home that she’d grown up in and Willow felt comfortable and safe, even though she’d spent less than a day there. Willow didn’t know how to explain it, so she simply shrugged and went with the flow, fully intending to enjoy spending time with her biological father and half-brother and not worrying about things. She could worry when she returned to Sunnydale.

 

Willow’s gaze flickered over to a framed photo of Booth and Parker together. She smiled. It was a Friday and tomorrow she and Booth were going to go and pick Parker up from his mother’s house and then drop him off again on Monday. He’d be back again Wednesday afternoon, as Wednesday was Christmas Day, and then he’d spend the following week with her and Booth. Parker would go home on New Year’s Day and Willow would fly back to Sunnydale on the fifth of January, so they would be able to spend lots of time together. Willow bounced a little in her chair as she thought of actually getting to meet her younger brother. She knew that over Christmas Booth was going to introduce her to his grandfather and brother but it was Parker, the loveable little boy who had sounded so excited on the phone and that Booth had talked about so much that she was really looking forward to meeting.

 

Willow jumped slightly when she heard a key in the door lock but relaxed when she saw Booth poke his head through.

 

“Hey, it’s just me. You ready to go?” He smiled.

 

Willow nodded and picked up her jacket and bag, double-checking that she had a vial of holy water, a small cross and a couple of pencils tucked in there before she walked over to the door. Booth stepped aside to let her out before he switched off the light and locked the door up again.

 

“You look beautiful,” he told Willow as they walked down the corridor to the elevator.

 

Willow blushed a little. “Thanks, you look good too.”

 

Booth tugged a little on the front of his suit. “Yeah, and it’s surprisingly comfortable too. These Jeffersonian parties are good fun though, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it.”

 

“I just have to watch out for Angela and the photocopier?” Willow asked and Booth laughed.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it though. I advise you to stay away from the eggnog though, and the punch.”

 

“How come?” Willow asked as they entered the elevator. Booth chuckled.

 

“Hodgins and Zach have been known to spike the drinks at these kinds of things. None that I’ve been to, but apparently they did the punch at a Fourth of July party, and it wasn’t pleasant.”  


“They spiked the punch? What with?” Willow asked

 

“Pure alcohol they made in the lab. Angela tells me it was so funny… what she remembers of it.   Apparently Bones was furious.”

 

Willow giggled. “Alright, I’ll stick to the water.”

 

“That’s a good idea.” Booth nodded as the elevator pinged and let them out into the basement. Willow followed Booth to the SUV in his designated parking space and giggled some more when he opened the car door for her.

 

“My lady.” He bowed.

 

“Thank you, sir,” Willow replied as she got in. Booth closed the door and walked around to his door.

 

“Seriously, though,” he commented as he started the car, “you look so much like your mom at our homecoming dance. She was so beautiful.”

 

“Do you miss her?” Willow asked. Booth looked at Willow and then refocused on the road.

 

“Yeah, I miss her. I mean, she was my first serious girlfriend. I would have not gone into the Army if she’d wanted me to stay here with her, not she wanted me to go. She knew that it was important to me. I’m just sorry I didn’t stay around. I might have known what was going on then, I might have had the chance to meet you before now.”

 

“But you didn’t. Don’t focus on the might-have-beens. Buffy once told me that you need to Carpe Diam, seize the day, because tomorrow, you might be dead.”

 

Booth coughed. “That’s, um, cheerful,” he managed. Willow shrugged.

 

“Yes, it is morbid, but it is true though. I mean, you work solving homicides every day. You know how many people die in a city this large on a day-to-day basis, so don’t waste time focusing on the could’ve-beens, should-have-beens and might-have-beens, and focus on the could be, should be and will be.”

 

Booth simply looked at his daughter in amazement. “You ever considering being a motivational speaker?” he asked. Willow blanched.

 

“Oh, ick no. Public talking, no way.” She shuddered. “Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Almost as bad as frogs.”

 

Booth snorted. “Frogs? You’re scared of frogs?”

 

“Well, not Kermit, but real frogs, yes. They’re all hoppy and slimy and croaky. Please tell me there aren’t any frogs at the Jeffersonian.”

 

“Hodgins might have a few, I don’t know, he’s more bugs than amphibians though, so I don’t know.”

 

“Good.” Willow smiled and they fell into a comfortable silence, Willow watching as the landmarks went rushing by and Booth watching the traffic.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth cut the engine of the SUV, glancing over at Willow with a smile. Willow didn’t notice, busy chewing upon her lip nervously.

 

“Come on, Willow, you’ll be okay. They all liked you last night. The squints wouldn’t shut up about you today.”

 

“Really, what was she saying?” Willow asked, her head whipping around.

 

“Ah, just how intelligent you were and how polite you were and Cam couldn’t get over how much like your mother you look… she knew us both back in high school,” Booth elaborated. Willow blushed.

 

“I hope it didn’t get in the way of a case being solved… or anything.”

 

Booth snorted. “Willow, nothing stands in the way of those squints and solving a case. Bones is the most focused person I know, no contest, except for possibly your mom.”

 

“Oh, that’s a relief.” Willow relaxed slightly before she and Booth got out of the car. Booth locked the car and took Willow’s hand, leading her to the car park exit and into the main Jeffersonian complex.

  

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth led Willow through the crowds straight to the lab, knowing in his gut that Bones would still be working, despite the party going on around her. He smiled when he spotted the squints through the glass doors and pushed them open, allowing Willow in before following her and closing the door. He smirked when he saw the look of amazement on Willow’s face, her eyes as wide as saucers as she tried to take the lab in.

 

“Booth, hey, and Willow. Glad you could come. Now, maybe we convince Bren and Zach to come and join the party,” Angela said, dressed in her customary elf costume. Willow’s eyes widened even more at the sight of the artist.

 

“I didn’t realize this was a dress-up party,” Willow said, looking from Booth to Angela in puzzlement. Angela laughed.

 

“It’s not, sweetie, I just like to wear something festive. Speaking of, you look great.”

 

Willow blushed. “Thanks. Um, you do too, elves are very festive.”

 

“I know.” Angela bounced excitedly. “I love Christmas parties, except for when people don’t know when to stop working,” Angela shot a look over her shoulder up at the platform where the others were clustered. Hodgins broke away, shaking his head and joined Angela, Booth and Willow.

 

“Please tell me there isn’t a body up there,” Booth said with a worried glance at Willow.

 

“Yes, just some old ones from a dig that Dr. B was sent today. She’s pointing out details to Cam and Zach.”

 

“How about I take Willow into my office and I can show her my computer stuff and you can work your magic on Bren and make her go to the party?”

 

“And I’ll work on Zach,” Hodgins added. Booth, Angela and Hodgins all paused for a moment.

 

“Good luck,” Angela and Hodgins said in unison, Hodgins speaking to Booth and Angela speaking to Hodgins. Willow giggled as the two men swiped their cards at the stairs and went up, approaching the rest of the team. Cam shifted and Willow caught sight of the skeleton lying on the table but she was distracted by Angela’s had on her shoulder.

 

“Now, let me show you the fun part of the lab,” the older woman said. Willow shrugged and followed on – she had enough dead bodies to deal with in Sunnydale, so she could handle not being around them while she was away from the Hellmouth.

 

Angela led Willow into her inner sanctum and Willow immediately forgot about the skeleton. It was amazing. She eyed all the computer technology and she was almost salivating at the thought of working on it.

 

“Wow,” she managed, “you’ve got a great set-up here.”

 

“Thanks, it’s pretty cool. It’s also pretty far from the boy’s lab, so I don’t hear many of the explosions.”

 

“Explosions?’ Willow asked.

 

“Yeah, Hodgins and Zach love trying out their theories in the form of experiments. Cam hates it though; she even banned them from being alone in the same room together because they almost blew up the lab.”

 

Willow giggled, thinking that maybe Hodgins, Zach and Xander would get along well together.

 

“What are you two giggling about?” Hodgins asked as he and Zach entered Angela’s office. Willow stopped giggling.

 

“Nothing,” Angela said with a smile. Zach cleared his throat.

 

“Angela, were you aware that you’ve got photographs of remains out.”

 

“Oh, damn,” Angela said, the smile falling off her face as she grabbed the stack of photos up from her desk, where Willow had gotten a good look at them, before shoving them in her desk drawer.

 

“And Booth thought you’d be away from all the bodies in here,” Hodgins chuckled shaking his head.

 

“It’s okay, sweetie. You think you’re going to puke?”

 

Willow shook his head. The pictures hadn’t disturbed her at all. Giles had far more gruesome images in his demonology books and Willow herself had found those bodies at school. It was worse when they had flesh and were covered in blood and were people that she had known.

 

“No, I’m okay. Kind of not the first time I’ve seen a dead body,” she said with a shrug. Zach looked interested.

 

“Really?”

 

“I found a couple at my high school earlier this year. It was a wild animal attack or something. Very messy and they were kids I knew and they were all still fleshy, well, where they weren’t covered in blood anyway.”

 

“Ew, poor you.” Angela put a sympathetic arm around her shoulder.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry, the bodies brought in here aren’t very fleshy, or if they are, they don’t stay that way,” Hodgins said with a grin. Willow’s comment had immediately sent his overactive imagination into a spin, running conspiracy theories through his mind and thinking of possible reasons the government would have high school students killed and make it look like an animal attack.

 

“Does Special Agent Booth know?” Zach asked.

 

“Um, I don’t think he does,” Willow replied.

 

“We won’t mention it then, okay? He’d freak if he knew,” Angela said. Willow nodded, unable to stop herself from agreeing with the artist.

 

“Come on, you guys, Booth’s got Brennan, let’s go,” Cam said as she poked her head into the office before hurrying off, her heeled feet clicking as she strode across the smooth floor of the lab. Angela beamed and picked up her bag before she straightened her costume and took Hodgins’ outstretched arm. They walked out of the office and Zach and Willow glanced at each other nervously before following them out. Booth and Brennan were waiting for them all at the glass doors to the lab and Booth took Willow’s hand once again as he led the way from the lab, pausing while Bones locked it up before they all headed off to the party together.


	27. Chapter 27

Willow had been surprised by the number of people that had been at the party, being held in another area of the Jeffersonian. Garish Christmas decorations were hung about the area and many seemed to have thought along the lines of Angela and dressed up, although none quite so… impressively as Angela had.

 

In one corner of the room, a group of children were gathered, obviously children of Jeffersonian workers. Someone there was dressed in a Santa suit, obviously there to entertain the children while their parents mingled with their co-workers. Willow was glad that she was older and would be allowed to stay with Booth and his friends.

 

She stuck close to them as they moved through the crowds, watching as they waved and chatted quickly to a couple of the other employees in the crowd. Cam wandered off on her own, leaving the others all standing in a group. A waiter walked past carrying a tray of drinks and Hodgins and Angela both snared drinks.

 

“It’s not a Christmas party without having a few,” Angela said, defending her actions to Brennan, who had looked at her questioningly. Willow quirked her eyebrow. This was going to be an interesting night, trying the help keep Angela in a respectable state of dress or at least in as respectable state of dress anyone could be while wearing an elf costume. Hopefully Hodgins, Zach and Dr. Brennan would be able to do most of the work supervising Angela.

 

“Right,” Booth said, smiling at Willow reassuringly, before he leaned casually against the wall.

 

“Booth, dance with me,” Angela said after finishing her drink. “Hodgins won’t and Zach’s being all quiet and thoughtful.”

 

Glancing at Bones and Willow, who shrugged, Booth sighed.

 

“Only one, alright, Angela?”

 

“Yes, Booth, I’ll have you back here in one piece very soon.” Angela rolled her eyes and smiled, leading him out onto the dance floor. Hodgins snorted in amusement as Brennan and Zach were called over to where Cam was standing with some other people. Willow stood beside Hodgins, watching as her father and Angela danced on the dance floor. It was very different to the sort of dancing she saw at the Bronze, not that she’d expected a group of professional adults who were mostly interested in some form of history or science to dance in a way similar to teenagers at a local club. The idea of Angela, Hodgins, Zach, Dr. Brennan and Cam bumping and grinding together like Willow often saw people doing at the Bronze made her giggle.

 

“What are you laughing at?” Hodgins asked with a grin. Willow felt her cheeks redden.

 

“Um, just a mental picture, that’s all,” she stammered. Hodgins nodded knowingly.

 

“Right,” he said, “I actually wanted to have a word with you, you know, just the two of us alone.”

 

Willow’s head whipped around. “What?”

 

“Relax, kid. I just wanted to congratulate you for having Booth as an old man. He’s a great guy.”

 

“Oh, yeah, he is, from what I’ve seen anyway.”

 

‘Yeah, trust me; he looks out for his kids. He dotes on Parker and whenever he’s around you, I can see how much he cares about you, no matter what.”

 

“Really?’ Willow asked, unable to stop hopefulness creeping into her voice.

 

“What, are you kidding? We can all see it, even Zach, and he’s the most emotionally blind person I know.”

 

Willow ducked her head, feeling herself blush shyly.

 

“Actually that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about,” Hodgins confessed. “How did you find Booth, his email and all that?”

 

Willow froze. “Um… research, gut instincts and a lucky guess,” she lied. Hodgins snorted.

 

“Willow, you suck at lying. I just want to know how you did it.”

 

“Did what?” Willow asked, playing dumb, but knowing that Buffy was so much better at it than she was.

 

“Hacked the FBI,” Hodgins said with a smirk. Willow’s face paled until she was almost white.

 

“You can’t tell Booth, he’ll get me thrown in prison and he’ll never talk to me again. I never meant to do any harm and I promise that I’ve never looked up anything I wasn’t supposed to… well, I guess I wasn’t supposed to look things up that were in their private database… but I never was going to use the information to do anything wrong, I swear,” Willow babbled at high speed. Hodgins laughed.

 

“Willow, relax. Booth already knows, we all know. It was the only explanation for how you managed to get Booth’s email address.”

 

“Oh my god.” Willow leaned heavily against the wall. “I am so going to prison.”

 

“I doubt it. Booth gained a daughter out of it and the others don’t seem to care,” Hodgins said with a shrug.

 

“Then may I ask why you’ve brought it up?’ Willow asked faintly.

 

Jack Hodgins simply smirked in reply. “I just love the fact that Booth’s daughter, Booth’s sixteen-year-old daughter, can hack the FBI and has done so from what she’s said on a couple of occasions.”

 

Willow blanched. “Well, when I said that I… um.”

 

Jack shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll keep that little fact between ourselves. How old were you the first time you did it?”

 

“It was really just an accident, I didn’t even realize I was doing it,” Willow admitted. “I was fourteen.”

 

Jack snorted. “Kid, I am now your biggest fan… Can I have your autograph? Seriously, hacking the FBI at fourteen? Have you ever done the Pentagon or the Defense Network? What about the CIA?”

 

Willow shook her head. “No, I’ve never gone anywhere near the Pentagon and I only did the Defense Forces database to initially find my dad. I haven’t gone near the CIA or Homeland Security or the IRS before you ask.”

 

Jack looked mildly disappointed. “Still, you’re still young, there’s still lots of time and opportunities.”

 

“Why are you encouraging it? I thought you guys would all be, you know, the law is the law, no exceptions.”

 

“I like to know things, things that the government doesn’t want us to know about. The others call me a conspiracy theorist.”

 

“Oh, I’ve heard of those.” Willow nodded, having heard her parents complaining about them and commenting that many were paranoid or schizophrenic. Hodgins seemed to be neither but Willow decided it would be best to remain cautious about the curly-haired man.

 

“Yeah, so, you know, being so young and so good at hacking is a big deal.” Hodgins grinned at Willow.

 

“Hodgins, what are you two up to?” Brennan asked, having returned from her discussion with Cam. Zach was trailing along after her. Jack straightened up.

 

“Just chatting to Willow, that’s all. You know, about how she got in contact with Booth.”

 

“Oh, yes. I must say, I was impressed by your obvious hacking ability, Willow. The FBI would be very protective of their employee files. Don’t tell Booth that I was impressed through. I think he’s trying to ignore that detail.”

 

Willow nodded. Hodgins grinned once at her before moving off to the food table. Bones and Zach stayed with Willow.

 

“So, Willow, how are you liking Washington? Booth was telling me today that you’re going to meet Parker tomorrow.”

 

Willow smiled politely. “Yes, it’s a nice city… it’s very cold though, much colder than Sunnydale. I’m really looking forward to meeting Parker tomorrow. He sounds like a great little boy.”

 

Brennan smiled back at Willow. “Yes, he is a nice boy. Booth cares a lot about him, just like he cares about you.”

 

“Booth cares about me? But we’ve only just met.”

 

“Willow, Booth cared about you the moment you emailed him about him being your father. He’s been so excited about this. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

 

“Really?”   

     

“Of course, why wouldn’t he be happy about having another child?”

 

Willow ducked her head and blushed. “I don’t know, I just burst into his life and told him that I existed. Maybe he feels pressured into looking out for me, like he has to but he really doesn’t want to.”

 

Brennan snapped her mouth shut, unsure of what to say to that. Willow’s insecurities reminded her so much of herself when she was sixteen, the fear of being abandoned, the sting of her parents’ rejection. Bones had no doubt that Willow hadn’t had a happy childhood. She’d suspected as such from the emails that had been exchanged between Booth and Willow but the younger girl’s words and the self-depreciating tone in her voice all but proved it to Brennan.

 

“Booth doesn’t feel pressured into caring about you, he just does naturally,” Bones said, hoping that her support would perhaps undo some the damage already done to Willow’s psyche. Brennan knew from her own past experience that nothing could completely rectify the damage but she hoped that with Booth’s loving and caring attitude towards Willow, the younger girl might be able to overcome her insecurities better than Brennan had (so far at least).

 

Willow chewed her lips, watching as Booth danced on the dance floor with Angela and shot frequent glances towards her direction, as if he was keeping an eye on her, protecting her. Maybe Dr. Brennan was right, maybe Booth did care genuinely about her. He certainly looked like he was paying her a lot of attention anyway. From observing Booth with Angela, Willow also added another thing to the list of differences between Angel and Booth. Booth was a much better dancer than the souled vampire. Willow made a mental note to add the detail to her next email to Buffy.

 

“How long have you and Booth worked together, Dr. Brennan?” Willow asked, partially to change the topic of the discussion. She knew that someone like Dr. Brennan would notice the diversion but she hoped that it would go without comment.

 

“Two and a half years now. I’ve found that I have enjoyed working with him and that we make a good team. When we’ve worked together we have solved many crimes that might otherwise have gone unsolved. He’s a good man and I know I can trust him. We’ve had our disagreements in the past but I know that he’ll be there for me should I ever need him.”

 

“I think that he feels the same about you, Dr. Brennan,” Willow found herself saying. “I know that he respects you and trusts you, just from what I’ve seen.”

 

Brennan was surprised by Willow’s words, but then, after thinking about it, she shouldn’t have been. Although Willow was much quieter and less… social than Booth, she still seemed to be good at reading people and knowing what was going on within them, much like Booth. It was a skill that Brennan was envious of.

 

“Hey, Dr. B, come here for a second,” Hodgins called from where he was standing. Brennan nodded.

 

“In a moment. Excuse me, Willow. Booth won’t be long. I’m sure Zach will look after you.”

 

“Of course,” Willow replied, watching as Brennan hurried off to see what Jack wanted. Zach cautiously approached her.

 

“Would you like a drink, Willow?’ he asked nervously after a slight pause. Willow nodded and they headed over to the drink table, both collecting cans of soda, before going and sitting down.

 

“What do you do at the lab, Zach?” Willow asked, taking a sip.

 

“Formerly I was Dr. Brennan’s intern but after I finished my Doctorate earlier this year, I have begun to work more independently, although I still follow Dr. Brennan’s lead on our cases. She and Special Agent Booth are a great team.”

 

“You have your doctorate already. How old are you if, you know, you don’t mind me asking?” Willow asked in surprise, hoping she didn’t sound too rude.

 

Zach shrugged. “I graduated high school earlier than is considered to be normal. I am twenty-three years old.”

 

Willow couldn’t help but let her jaw drop. “Wow, you have a doctorate and you’re only twenty-three. That’s really cool.”

 

Zach coked his head sideways. “I’m not so sure. Some people view intelligence like mine and Dr. Brennan’s as a hindrance, not a gift.”

 

“Why? What you guys do… It’s brilliant. You catch all the killers out there and bring justice to their victims’ families and friends and you can stop them from re-offending and killing more people. What could be better than helping the loss of more lives?”

 

Zach looked moderately surprised at the passionate way Willow spoke. “I don’t really do that much. Dr. Brennan, Dr. Saroyen and Dr. Hodgins are the ones that solve the cases, Angela gives the victims a face and Dr. Sweets can associate with people and Special Agent Booth goes out and catches them and protects us all. I’m just Dr. Brennan’s assistant, her sidekick.”

 

“There’s nothing wrong with being a sidekick,” Willow rebutted. “The heroes are nothing without their sidekicks.” Willow couldn’t help but see Zach’s point of view. She was Buffy’s sidekick, or even Giles’ assistant. Not really necessary in the grand scheme of things but at the same time, hugely important to the makeup of the group.

 

Zach shook his head sadly. “Nothing I ever do is enough, especially for Dr. Brennan or Special Agent Booth. I try to make them approve of me, to make them proud, but Booth doesn’t really like me, I’m too much of a squint, and he doesn’t know how to deal with me and Dr. Brennan is too busy solving cases to help me. I respect them both, they are excellent people and I aspire to be like them. Booth has saved my life before, at great risk to his own life, and Dr. Brennan has been my teacher and mentor for four years now, putting her faith in me when no one else would because I was so young.”

 

“Zach… Trust me when I say that I know how it feels to be underappreciated by those you respect and look up to but when it comes down to the facts, they care about you. They all do. Dr. Brennan, my dad, Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Dr. Sweets, all of the team.”

 

Zach sighed and looked down at his drink, drinking a mouthful. “Over the summer, I went to Iraq to work on victims of the war. They sent me home because I didn’t fit in with the military ideology. I went to prove myself as an adult… as a man. I think Booth understood at the time… when I was leaving and they were glad to see me back, but nothing changed. I didn’t like it over there. The things I saw haunt me in my sleep, even though six months has passed.” He spoke with a detached, broken-sounding voice. Willow felt sympathy well up within her.

 

“Does anyone else know about this?” she asked.

 

Zach shook his head. “I’ve avoided situations where I would be required to sleep near others, so they will not be disturbed by my nightmares and I spend as much time as possible at the lab, because here I can at least forget. Here I know I am safe. Outside of the lab, I don’t feel so confident.”

 

“You should talk to someone. My dad or Dr. Sweets. They’d be able to help you, maybe,” Willow counselled. Zach shook his head.

 

“The one time I went to Special Agent Booth for advice that was personal to me, he threatened to shoot me. I don’t think he wants to talk about his experiences of war. I think he would prefer to talk about sexual positions.”

Willow coughed and she felt her cheeks redden. “Um, yeah, if you say so.”

 

Zach cringed. “Er, if you could perhaps refrain from telling Special Agent Booth that, I said that I would appreciate it.”

 

Willow giggled. “Your secret is safe with me, Dr. Addy.”

 

“Call me Zach.”

 

“Okay then, Zach.” Willow smiled. The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments until Booth sidled up to the table.

 

“What are you to talking about, anything interesting?”

 

Zach ducked his head and avoided Booth’s gaze, so Willow answered for them both.

 

“Nope, nothing of interest. We were just talking about different types of science, you know.”

 

Booth held up his hand. “Okay, then. As long as no gory detail was mentioned, I don’t want to hear about it. No offense but I hear enough of that talk through the day.”

 

“Nope, nothing icky was talked about.” Willow smiled reassuringly.

 

“Good,” Booth said, looking from Willow to Zach and back again. He wouldn’t have pegged the two as likely friends but it was unmistakable that some sort of friendship had formed between the young squint and his daughter. Booth had seen the way they’d been talking, the earnest looks on their faces as they discussed whatever it was that they’d been talking about. Booth thought about his own feelings about their friendship and surprised himself when he realized that he supported it. Zach needed more friends outside of the lab, Willow was closer to Zach in age than she was to any of the other squints, and the pair of them shared an intelligence that Booth could never hope to achieve.

 

Willow and Zach would be good for one another, Booth was sure of it.


	28. Chapter 28

Willow almost bounced in excitement as she sat in the passenger seat of Booth’s SUV as her father navigated the streets of Washington, heading towards Rebecca and Parker’s house. She couldn’t believe that she was about to meet her little brother face-to-face for the first time. She wondered if he looked similar to the picture she now carried in her wallet, his big brown eyes shining, his toothy grin and the mass of blond curls.

 

She wondered if he would like her or if he would resent her for taking his dad away from him, for making him share what had previously been just his and no one else’s. Willow imagined that Parker and her father were close. The way Booth spoke of Parker with such fondness in his eyes, as well as everyone else’s comments about Booth as a father, indicated to Willow that Booth thought the world of his little boy.

 

Willow was drawn from her musing when Booth pulled the car into a driveway and cut the engine. Willow looked up at the house. It was an ordinary, middle-class kind of house with a white picket fence and flower beds decorating the front garden. She smiled when she saw one of the curtains move, as if someone had been peeking out at them. She got out of the car, following Booth along the path to the front door, swallowing nervously. What should she say? ‘Hi, I’m Willow, and I’m your big sister’? Willow cringed as Booth knocked on the door, and she heard the sound of running feet from within the house. She was just glad that Parker already knew about her, so it wasn’t going to be so much of a shock when he saw her. From what Booth had said, Parker had been eagerly awaiting her arrival

 

The door clicked and opened, revealing a tall blond woman and a small boy. Willow guessed the woman was Parker’s mother, Rebecca, but her eyes flew to the little boy. He looked so much like his picture, angelic blond curls framing his face, deep brown eyes that were exactly like their father’s, the wide smile that seemed to light up his entire face.

 

“Daddy, you’re here. And you must be Willow. I’m Parker, we talked on the phone, and Dr. Bones was there too. You’re really pretty, just like in your picture that you gave Daddy to give to me. I put it up on my bedside table. Mommy says that she’ll get me a nice frame so it doesn’t get anything slopped on it and get all messy,” Parker babbled, stepping over the threshold and out onto the front porch so he was closer to Willow. “I didn’t sleep much last night, I was too excited about meeting you today.”       

“Does that mean that you need to go to bed early tonight?” Booth joked and Parker turned to face his father, the most adorable pout on his face.

 

“Daddy,” Parker whined, rolling his eyes. Booth laughed and scooped his son up, kissing him on the forehead. Parker squealed and burst out laughing. Willow grinned as she watched, although she made a mental not to try to never let Buffy… or Angel, see Booth and Parker playing together. It would be far too cruel for them.

 

“You better come inside. It’s very cold out there,” Rebecca said, stepping aside. Booth led the way, still carrying Parker in his arms. Willow followed shyly.

 

“I’m Rebecca, Parker’s mom,” Rebecca introduced herself to Willow and offered the teenager her hand to shake. Willow took it and shook hands, smiling politely.

 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Rebecca. I’m Willow, as you might have guessed.”

 

Rebecca laughed. “Parker’s been so excited about you coming to visit Seeley. He’s always wanted a sibling and having his sister come and stay for Christmas has just made this time of year really exciting for him.”

 

“I hope he hasn’t been too much of a handful,” Willow hedged in apology, watching Parker eagerly chatting away to Booth.

 

“Oh, no. Just an excited little boy. I’m glad you’re here, Willow. Parker’s my little boy and anything that makes him this happy makes me happy.”

 

Willow was saved from responding, which was going to be difficult because she could feel her cheeks going all red, when Parker ran up to her, having finally been put down by Booth.

 

“Willow, come and seem my room, I want to show you some stuff.”

 

“Okay, Parker.” Willow let herself get dragged upstairs, leaving a smiling Rebecca in her wake. Booth stood beside his former girlfriend.

 

“She’s nice… very sweet. Does she look like Carmen?” Rebecca asked. She and Booth had been together when Carmen’s remains had been discovered, so she knew a lot about Carmen. Rebecca had even offered that, if Parker had been a girl, her middle name would be Carmen.

 

“Oh, yeah, but then she’s shown me pictured of her when she was little and you can see a resemblance between her and Parker.”

 

“Must be you in there too then. She cares about you both so much. What… what is her other family like?”

 

Booth sighed. “Her parents aren’t around much and they both spend a lot of time on lecture tours but she’s really close to her friends. They’re her real family. I couldn’t take her away from that… Not permanently, at least. She’d never forgive me for it.”

 

Rebecca smiled, remembering a younger Booth who would have made a challenge for Willow’s custody, regardless of what the young girl wanted. Seeley had grown up so much since Parker had been born and had learned that his children’s happiness came first.

 

Speaking of his children’s happiness, Rebecca smiled when she heard both Parker and Willow laugh, the sound rolling down the stairs from Parker’s room. Booth gestured up the stairs.

 

“I probably should go and check on what they’re up to,” he said and Rebecca nodded in agreement. Booth headed upstairs, walking through Parker’s open bedroom door. Inside the typically messy room, Parker was showing Willow his extensive collection of toys.

 

“Hey, buddy, I was thinking that before we head home for lunch, we could take Willow to the park. How does that sound?”

 

“Yeah, you’ll love the park, it’s so fun. Hang on and I’ll just get my bag, oh, and I have a present for you too.” Parker picked up his packed backpack from the foot of his bed and passed it to Booth. Booth slung it over his shoulder as Parker opened up a drawer and pulled a wrapped bundle from it.

 

“Hey, Parker, it’s a bit early for Christmas presents,” Booth pointed out. Parker simply looked at him.

 

“But it’s not a Christmas present, Daddy. It’s a welcome to the family present from me. Mommy helped me pick some of it out and she helped me wrap it, because she’s good at that, but I did most of it.”

 

“Okay then,” Booth relaxed as Parker handed the present to Willow.

 

“Aw, thank you, Parker.” Willow said, carefully opening the package. Inside was a picture that Parker had obviously drawn himself, that had been framed. There were three people in it, which Parker had labeled as being himself, Booth and Willow. Also in the bundle was a red Christmas bauble with glittery green writing on it spelling out Willow’s name.

 

“When you said on the phone that you never had a Christmas tree to decorate, I said you can help decorate ours. Now you have your own special decoration to put on the tree,” Parker explained. Willow felt her eyes well up with tears at her little brother’s thoughtfulness.

 

“Thank you, Parker. They’re both perfect,” she said before she hugged him. Booth watched on, smiling fondly as his two children hugged for the first time. He was so proud of Parker and his thoughtfulness and made a mental note to thank Rebecca for going along with Parker’s plan. He knew it meant a lot to Willow, especially given the tears he’d seen in the teenager’s eyes.

 

Yes, Parker had definitely earned a few special treats with how he had treated Willow and Booth fully intended on delivering.

 

The trio walked downstairs once Willow and Parker had separated and Booth had mouthed his thanks over his children’s heads on the way out the door. Rebecca waved them away, she herself being touched by her son’s determination to getting Willow a welcome to the family present that was so considerate.

 

She, Booth and Willow were lucky to have a little boy like Parker in their family.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow walked in between Booth and Parker as they approached the park that they’d headed for after leaving Parker and Rebecca’s house, smiling fondly down at Parker as he beamed happily up at her. The playground was similar to the ones in Sunnydale and Willow was unable to avoid subconsciously taking note of any prospective places where a vampire, or any other individual with unsavory intentions, might be hiding, even though it was broad daylight.

 

They were all bundled up in coats and hats and Willow’s breath came out in little puffs of vapor. There wasn’t any snow lying on the ground, but there was an iciness in the air that Willow wasn’t used to.

 

“Can I go play now, Daddy?” Parker asked. Willow watched as Booth seemed to scan the surroundings, assessing any potential risks to his son and daughter before finally nodding.

 

“Sure thing, buddy.”

 

“Come on, Willow.” Parker tugged on Willow’s hand a few times before he took off towards the playground. Willow glanced questioningly at Booth, who nodded encouragingly, before she took off after the younger boy. Parker squealed in delight as Willow chased him around the playground. Booth smiled as he watched them chase each other, Willow deliberately slowing down to make it easier for Parker to catch her, and so Parker had a good turn at being caught as well. She was also actively slowing the game down, reducing the risk of Parker slipping and hurting himself. There weren’t many other children around because it was so cold outside, so it didn’t matter that Willow was strictly speaking a little too large to be on the playground.

 

Willow threw her head back as she ran, laughing. She could feel the darkness that had been her life on the Hellmouth slipping away and she felt more carefree than she had since Jesse’s death. She felt Parker wrap his arms around her from behind and they tumbled to the ground, Parker quickly letting go.

 

“Willow, are you okay?” he asked, fear rich in his voice, obviously convinced he had hurt her. Willow shook from her laughter, giggling to herself happily as she rolled over onto her back.

 

“No, Parker, I’m fine. It’s okay.” She smiled. Parker let out a relieved sigh before Willow lunged up and caught hold of him and began to tickle him. Parker squirmed and laughed in delight. From where he stood, Booth couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he watched his son and daughter… his children, play together. He had been worried that Parker would be jealous and that Willow wouldn’t want to play or spend time with her younger brother but his fears had been groundless. He got out his phone and snapped a few pictures of the pair playing, capturing the wide smiles upon their faces to his phone’s memory before he sent off copies to Rebecca and Bones, knowing that they would both appreciate it.

 

After a while of watching Connor and Willow playing, Booth shivered and glanced at his watch, deciding that it was time for him to gather up his offspring and head back to his apartment for some hot chocolate and lunch. Booth walked over to the playground to the monkey bars, where Willow and Parker were hanging upside down next to one another, their faces red from the blood rushing to the heads.

 

“Hey guys, time to head home. We’ll have some hot chocolate and some lunch. How does that sound?”

 

“Yum.” Parker climbed down and Willow followed him as Parker skipped off towards the SUV. Willow followed at a more sedate pace, her cheeks steadily becoming less red as her body readjusted to being the right way up again.

 

“You tired?” Booth asked. Willow smiled wryly at him and nodded.

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve played with kids on playground equipment, probably not since I was twelve or something. I mean, sometimes Xander, Jesse and I used to play on the playground equipment when we were older, but not at the same time as little kids. It was kind of like Halloween.”

 

“What happened?” Booth asked. Willow shrugged, realizing that she was going to have to heavily modify the story to leave out the supernatural elements of what happened that night.

 

“Buffy, Xander and I got roped into volunteering to take the little kids trick-or-treating by the principal. We had to dress up and everything. It was good, though. For the most part they behaved themselves.”

 

“Who, the teenagers or the kids?” Booth asked jokingly. Willow laughed.

 

“The kids,” she told him. Booth nodded in acceptance of the story.

 

“So, what did you go as? Witch? Vampire? Fairy Princess?”

 

“I was a ghost,” Willow said. “Traditional, and easy, not to mention, not being spandex or leather.”

 

Booth whipped his head around at the comment but Willow didn’t look eager to elaborate, so he didn’t push it.

 

Parker waited for them by the car and they all climbed in once Booth had unlocked it.

“What are we doing tonight, Daddy? Anything special?” asked Parker from the back seat.

 

“Uncle Jared’s going to come around for dinner tonight, buddy, so he can meet Willow. I thought we might have a movie night after dinner. How does that sound?”

 

“Yay!” Parker beamed.

 

“Willow?” Booth asked as he drove. Willow looked at Booth. “Sounds great. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were asking me as well.”

 

Booth let the comment slide but he was frowning internally. Maybe things weren’t as good as he thought they were. Willow seemed to have fallen for Parker’s charms and was obviously caring for him just like any girl would care for her little brother but she still obviously carried insecurities about how Booth felt abut her. Booth hoped that, given much love and attention over her holidays, he might be able to convince Willow of her importance in his life.


	29. Chapter 29

Booth was busily cooking when he heard the buzzer at the door. Willow was at his side in a moment.

 

“Do you want me to look after this?’ she asked, gesturing at the cooking. Booth nodded and hurried to answer the door, Parker bouncing along at his heels. Willow stirred the spaghetti Bolognaise sauce with the spoon Booth had handed to her, making sure it wasn’t sticking to the bottom. It looked like a lot, since there were only four of them but then, she considered, there was going to be two full grown men at the table and little boys liked their food as well, if her memories of Xander growing up were anything to go by.

 

At the door, Booth had buzzed Jared in and left Parker in charge of opening the door for his uncle. Booth thought about Jared’s reaction, how his younger brother had snorted and dissolved into laughter, commenting, as Booth predicted, on how many times Seeley had lectured him on the importance of engaging in safe sex and using contraception or abstaining entirely until after marriage, and yet Seeley was the one of the brothers with two illegitimate children to two different mothers, of whom Seeley had married neither. Still, Jared had been pleased for Seeley and has expressed his enthusiasm towards meeting his niece.

 

Booth sighed when he heard the apartment door being opened by Parker and his joyful yell.

 

“Hi, Uncle Jared, guess what. I’ve got a big sister. We spent this morning playing at the playground together and then Daddy made us hot chocolate and it was really yummy and warm,” Parker babbled as Jared crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him. He took off his jacket and scarf and folded them before putting them on the hall table. Then he scooped down and picked up Parker, who laughed as Jared gave him a bear hug.

 

“That’s awesome, buddy, do you want to show me your sister?”

 

“Yeah.” Parker smiled and Jared put him down. Parker led Jared through the apartment. Booth had relieved Willow of the mixing spoon, so she was setting the table.

 

“Willow, this is Uncle Jared. Uncle Jared, this is my big sister, Willow.”

 

“Hi.” Willow smiled. Jared grinned. When Seeley had told him that Willow looked like Carmen, he’d never expected the resemblance to be so uncanny. He remembered Carmen from when she and Seeley had been dating and had been sad when he’d learned of her death. He had accompanied Seeley to her funeral, as had Rebecca.

 

“Hey, just call me Jared, if you want,” Jared said, offering Willow his hand to shake. Willow took it.

 

“Um, okay. Sorry, I’m still getting around this whole other family thing,” Willow apologized. Jared nodded understandingly.

 

“It’s okay. I can imagine it would be a little weird. So, you’re from California? Which part?” he asked, changing the topic a little.

 

“Sunnydale, it’s about two hours north of L.A.,” she replied. Jared nodded.

 

“That’s nice. I’ll bet it doesn’t get this cold there though.”

 

“Nowhere near this cold,” Willow admitted, tugging the sleeves of her jumper down a little so they could cover her hands, even through Booth had turned the heater on the moment that they got back from the park.

 

“Oh, that reminds me. Speaking of the weather, there’s going to be a huge storm tonight, Seeley, I heard them talking about it on the radio on the way over,” Jared told his brother, who nodded.

 

“Okay, Jared, thanks for the heads up. You’ll be okay to get home?”

 

“Yes, Seeley.” Jared rolled his eyes meaningfully at Willow and Parker, who both giggled.

 

“Why don’t you two go and wash your hands? I’m just about done here.” Seeley said, as he strained the water from the pasta he had coked. Willow hurried off and Parker followed at her heels. Booth glanced at his brother.

 

“You were right. She looks a lot like Carmen. Acts a lot like her too. Quiet and shy.”

 

“Yeah, very smart too. When she met the squints, she was able to understand what they were saying. I even saw her having lengthy chats with Bones and Zach.”

 

“Zach? He the one who went over to Iraq over the summer?”

 

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

 

“How’s he coping?” Jared asked, curious about how squints were able to manage the brutality of war.

 

“He took a month to settle down. He was acting a little strange early on, stranger than normal for Zach, anyway, but he’s been managing okay since then. I haven’t really been talking to him about it though,” Booth admitted, realizing that maybe he should do more for the younger squint, annoying as he may be. Booth knew that Hodgins and Angela were busy with trying to track down her husband and getting a divorce, so they were too strapped for time to try and help Zach with post-war trauma and Booth doubted Zach would go to Sweets. Brennan hadn’t told him about Zach going to her for guidance, so it seemed likely that he hadn’t talked to anyone. Booth resolved to deal with the situation. Zach might not be his favorite squint but he was still a member of Booth’s team, and as such Booth wasn’t going to let Zach keep trying to get over this on his own.

 

“Hey, Seeley, you with me?” Jared asked and Booth realized that he’d zoned out on his brother. He shook his head and continued serving up the pasta and sauce that he’d cooked up.

 

“Yeah, sorry, just got lost in my thoughts. So, what’s new with you?”

 

Jared shrugged. “Well, I haven’t discovered nay illegitimate love children recently, unlike some other people.” He smiled. Booth glared at his younger brother.

 

“Don’t go saying that in front of Willow. She’s insecure enough as it is.”

 

“Insecure?” Jared asked, concern for Willow written on his face. Booth sighed, glancing to make sure Willow and Parker weren’t returning.

 

“I get the slight impression that Willow’s adoptive parents weren’t around a whole lot for her. She talks more about her friends as her family than her actual adopted family. I don’t know enough to be sure and you know how slow the court system is. By the time anything would get done, Willow would be eighteen.”

 

“She got good friends?” Jared asked. Booth nodded.

 

“Oh, yeah. They all care a lot about each other, they all watch out for her and their families do too. If I tried to force her away from that, she’d never forgive me.”

 

The two men fell quiet as they heard Parker and Willow retuning and Booth and Jared quickly washed their hands before Booth carried the plates over to the table. Jared entered the kitchen, and got drinks ready, a bottle of beer each for him and Booth and a glass of soda each for Parker and Willow. Parker and Willow sat at the table and the two men joined them.

 

Booth couldn’t help but glance around the table as they began to eat. His brother, his daughter, his son and himself, together for the first time. Booth was surrounded by his family and yet it felt as if something was missing. Sure, his pop wasn’t there—he was at his nursing home on the outskirts of the city but Booth wasn’t sure that it was his pop that was missing. It took him a moment to realize that it was Bones that he was missing. Over the last few years of them working together as partners, he’d come to view her as a part of his family. He supposed that all of the squints had wormed their way into his heart, his earlier concern over Zach was evidence of that, but it was Bones that had found her way to the deepest part of his heart, the part usually reserved for Parker and now Willow. Not even Jared had made it that far into Seeley’s heart but Bones had and she’d completely unknowingly made herself quite comfortable there.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow watched her father as she ate, the pasta and sauce being much tastier than she’d expected. He was obviously deep in thought. Parker and Jared were talking about Christmas and Parker was happily babbling away about how, on Christmas afternoon, he would get to exchange presents with them all. Because he had no children himself, Jared almost always volunteered to work on Christmas day, so his colleagues that had children didn’t need to. This year was no different, but he would catch up with Booth, Parker and Willow at some point in the week following Christmas, as he normally did.

 

“Hey, Parker. How does going to the diner on Christmas day for dinner sound? We can invite Bones, if you want,” Booth suggested randomly. Parker almost jumped up and down in his seat.

 

“Yes, please, Daddy. Have you met Dr. Bones?” Parker turned to ask Willow. Willow smiled and nodded.

 

“I went to the lab’s Christmas party last night.”

 

“The lab is so cool. They study lots of dead bodies and things and lots of bones. When I go there, Angela lets me do lots of drawings and Dr. Jack and Zach let me help do experiments. It’s so much fun there and sometimes I get shown around the museum and Dr. Bones makes it really funny when she talks about the dinosaurs,” Parker babbled.    

 

Willow smiled. Parker so obviously loved going to the Jeffersonian. Maybe he would grow up to have an interest in science as well. She glanced sideways at her father, and the grin widened as he laughed at what Parker had said. Willow couldn’t imagine someone like Booth, on the surface, being happy about both his children going on to become squints, although deep down he would be very proud of them both.

 

Of course, it might not be an issue. For one, people changed. When she was six years old, she was convinced that she was going to become America’s first female president; when Xander had been six, he was certain he was going to grow up to become either a fire-fighter or an astronaut. Who knew what sort of person Parker would grow up to become. Secondly, Willow knew that the moment she found out about Buffy’s calling and what really happened when something went bump in the night, her life span had been shortened. She’d already almost died a few times and there was always going to be a chance that she wouldn’t make it through high school. As scary as that thought was, Willow knew it was a possibility and she’d spent the last eleven months mentally preparing herself for her own untimely death.         

        

Jared Booth smiled as he listened to Parker chatter about the lab. He had to agree with the younger boy, it was a pretty cool place. He could see from her facial expression that Willow agreed. Jared had no doubt that Willow was as clever as Seeley had said she was, he could see it in her eyes, the same intelligence that had burned in the eyes of Carmen and in the eyes of people like Cam and Brennan and the rest of Seeley’s squints. As Jared watched his nephew and niece interact with one another, he considered what his brother had said to him and began to pay close attention to Willow’s body language, trying to see any trace of the insecurity that Booth had pointed out. He could see it, the little nervous glances towards Booth, searching for his approval, the way her smile was forced as if she didn’t know how to act in a family situation, the way that when the meal was over she leapt up and began to clear the table without even asking, trying to do anything that would help her earn the elder Booth’s love and affection.

 

“Kid, you’ve already got it without even trying,” Jared found himself saying to himself quietly as he began to help dry the dishes while Booth washed. Parker helped dry the dishes off while Willow cleared and wiped down the table before taking over the washing for Booth so he could put things away. With everyone contributing, it didn’t take very long at all. Since it was still early, they headed for the living room and Booth let Parker choose a movie. Jared sat down in one of the armchairs, letting Booth and the two kids have the couch. It was a good thing the couch was long, so they all fitted comfortably. Parker snuggled close to Booth and Jared was willing to bet that by the end of the movie Parker would either be asleep or very close to it.

 

Willow sat at the other end of the couch, content to simply be near her father, brother and uncle as they all watched the movie. It was, naturally, a cartoon but it was one that she’d seen before with Xander, so it didn’t require much thought on her behalf, which was a good thing, but being able to sit down and relax after being on edge about so many things, from Buffy’s confrontation with the Master, to her feelings for Xander, to school, to finding about being adopted, to getting in touch with Booth and worrying about meeting him, his friends, and their family, combined with the excitement of the last few days, had made her weary and she watched the movie through half-lidded eyes, even through it was still comparatively early and she was used to late nights.

 

As the movie progressed Seeley felt Parker relax against him, settling down after a very long and exciting day. After what Rebecca had said that morning about Parker not sleeping much the night before, Booth wasn’t surprised when he glanced down at his son and saw how close to falling asleep the young boy actually was. Willow, at the other end of the couch, was looking tired too and Jared looked simply relaxed, the stress of the long working week seeming to slide from his younger brother’s face and tense shoulders.

 

When the movie finished, Parker sleepily said his goodnights before going to brush his teeth and going to bed. Booth put on a game of football and Willow soon followed her brother to bed, being unable to keep her eyes open any longer. Not long afterwards Jared headed home and Seeley headed off to bed himself.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Parker Booth awoke with a start, lying in his bedroom, the only light coming from the street outside. He wondered for a moment what had woken him until he heard the rumble of thunder rolling through the air loudly. Parker tensed. He hated storms, the thunder and the lightning, the howling wind through the city buildings and the pelting rain. As he lay in his bed he could hear the wind, and the constant drumming of rain upon his bedroom window. He whimpered and clutched his teddy bear close to his chest. The next flash of lightning was followed immediately by the clap of thunder. Parker sat up in bed and pulled at his covers, sliding out. He shivered as his pajama-clad body was exposed to the night air and he cuddled his teddy close.

 

Parker knew that he was growing up to be a big boy and big boys weren’t scared of storms, just like daddies. Parker also knew that his daddy wanted him to be a big boy, even though he was scared of storms. Parker remembered the times before when there had been a storm when he was staying with his daddy when he would go and crawl into bed with his daddy and his daddy would look after him. Parker didn’t need looking after any more. But maybe Willow needed someone to look after her. She was a girl after all, even though she was so big. Big girls could be scared of storms… Couldn’t they? Parker was sure they could be (But mommies couldn’t be). Brothers looked after their sisters, even when they were bigger. Nodding his head and whimpering again when there was another blast of thunder, Parker clutched his teddy close and slid off his bed, padding across the floor to his ajar bedroom door, which he pulled open in order to let himself out. He pushed the door back ajar again once he was through and crept down the hallway to Willow’s bedroom. He paused before pushing the door open and creeping in.

 

Willow was sound asleep, her red hair spread out on her pillow. Parker cautiously approached his big sister.

 

“Willow?” he asked quietly. She didn’t respond, so he tried again a little louder.

 

“Willow?” He poked her. Willow stirred.

 

“Hmm, what?” She blinked at him sleepily a few times before she woke up a little.

 

“Parker, are you okay?”

 

Parker nodded, although he flinched when thunder rumbled through the air again, as the wind continued to howl outside like it was a wolf trying to get in and eat him.

 

“Can I sleep in here with you? I don’t want you to get scared by the storm,” Parker said, cuddling his teddy.

 

“I’m not scared, Parker… but you can come up if you want.” Willow wriggled over and Parker smiled when he climbed in beside her. Willow hesitated before she carefully wrapped an arm around Parker, giving him a hug. Parker snuggled into the embrace and cuddled into Willow’s chest. Willow smiled to herself, looking down at her little brother before she gave him a gentle little kiss on the top of his head and laid her head back down and drifting back into oblivion.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth woke with a start as he heard the thunder rumbling through the night air. He glanced at his alarm clock and groaned. It was only four o’clock in the morning. Booth waited for the sound of Parker’s footsteps entering his room, the little boy was a good sleeper except when it was storming. Then he had to sleep with Booth. It had always been that way, when he was staying with Booth anyway.

 

Booth frowned when, ten minutes later, his son had failed to appear. Deciding that he should go and check on Parker to make sure he wasn’t completely terrified, Booth slid out from the covers and pulled on a jumper over the t-shirt and sweats he was already wearing.

 

He crossed to the door of his bedroom and let himself out, walking down the hall to Parker’s bedroom. The door was ajar, just like Parker always had it, and Booth smiled before he quietly pushed it open, poking his head into the room. He shook his head at the mass that surrounded his son’s bag, before looking at the bed. Booth felt his heart clench uncomfortably.

 

Parker wasn’t there…

 

Booth quickly looked over the room, just in case Parker had hidden from the storm, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. Next he left the room and checked the bathroom, but Parker wasn’t there either. Booth scoured his apartment; still being quiet as he could, because he guessed Willow was still asleep and he didn’t really want to disturb her… she was a sixteen-year-old, after all.

 

After searching his entire apartment, and still coming up with nothing, Booth was getting very worried. Taking a breath, Booth approached the door of his guest bedroom. He noticed that the door was ajar and smiled, knowing that the doorknob squeaked when it was turned. He instead pushed the door open and poked his head into the room. For the second time in less than an hour, Booth felt his heart clench.

 

Willow was sound asleep under the covers, her arm draped over Parker as the younger boy lay cuddled into her side, their heads almost touching as they shared the pillow, even though it was a double bed. Booth smiled and ducked into the living room, picking up his camera before he headed back to Willow’s room and snapping a picture of the pair. He glanced at the image on the screen and his grin deepened before he looked at the real life pair slumbering on the bed.

 

“Sweet dreams, guys,” he whispered before he pulled the door so it was ajar and headed back to bed.


	30. Chapter 30

Willow stiffened as she woke up, not expecting to feel the warm… somebody lying curled up beside her in the bed. It took her a moment to remember where she was and that it was just Parker lying next to her, because he’d been scared of the storm and had gone to see if she’d needed protection. It was a very sweet gesture and Willow was touched by it.

 

She glanced at her clock and concluded that it was time for her to get up. She was going to make her chocolate pancakes for Parker and she wasn’t sure what else Booth had planned for the day.

 

Willow climbed out from under the covers, wincing as Parker stirred before falling back asleep. She quickly slipped out of the room, not wanting to disturb her younger brother, before heading to the bathroom. She noticed as she left the bathroom, having done what was needed, that Booth was already up, wearing a long dressing gown over his pajamas.

 

“Hey, you have a good night’s sleep?” Booth asked. Willow smiled and nodded.

 

“Yeah, I had a visitor during the night. I don’t think Parker liked the storm, so he came into my room to check if I was alright and he wanted to sleep in with me so he could protect me from the storm.” Willow smiled. Booth laughed softly.

 

“When it’s stormy like that, he usually comes in to sleep with me. It was nice that he went to you, it shows that he trusts you.”

 

Willow smiled to herself, having not thought of it in that way. Naturally, you were at your most vulnerable when you were sleeping, so Parker trusting her by sleeping beside her, after having only known her for less than a day, was an indication of how much he trusted her to look out for him already.    

 

“So, are we having chocolate pancakes for breakfast?” Willow asked. Booth smiled, nodding.

 

“Parker asked me yesterday if we could have them, if that’s okay with you.”

 

Willow nodded and began to get everything she needed to make the pancakes together but didn’t do anything else, wanting to wait until Parker was up until she started.

 

“So, what do you want to do today?” Willow asked as she sat down at the dining room table. Booth smiled.

 

“This morning I was thinking we could all go out and get a Christmas tree and then we’ll bring it back here and decorate it, since Parker won’t be back until Christmas day. Depending on what time it is, I was thinking we might go and visit Pops before we take Parker back to Rebecca’s house.”

 

Willow nodded. “Sounds good.” She smiled before she picked up a newspaper that had been left lying around and began to flick through it.

 

It wasn’t long after that that Parker emerged from Willow’s room, tousle haired and smiling sheepishly.

 

“Hey, Parker, did you have a good sleep?” Booth smiled, hugging the little boy and ruffling his blonde curls. Parker smiled.

 

“I looked after Willow for you, Daddy, during the big storm that was outside.” He smiled. Booth laughed.

 

“I’m sure you did, Parker.”

 

“I know he did, I felt so looked after and protected when he was with me,” Willow defended playfully. “Isn’t that right, Parker? And you did such a good job, I’m going to do what all the girls do for their heroes.”

 

Parker scrunched up his nose. “Give me an icky kiss?” he gagged. Willow laughed.

 

“No, silly, make them lots of chocolate pancakes.”

 

Parker beamed. “Can I help?”

 

Willow shrugged. “Sure. We’ll go wash our hands and then we can get started.”

 

Parker sped off in the direction of the bathroom while Willow followed at a more sedate pace. Hands clean, Willow led Parker into the kitchen, relieved that Booth had moved a chair into the kitchen for Parker to stand on.

 

“Now, the first thing you do is…” Willow began.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth leaned back in his chair and let out a loud belch. “Excuse me.” He smiled as Parker dissolved into giggles. Willow hid her smile behind her hand and put another forkful of pancakes into her mouth, chewing contentedly, before she scooped up the few remaining scraps of food with her fork, mopping up the sauce from her plate before putting it into her mouth. She put her fork down and smiled at the two males she was sharing with. Booth and Parker put Jesse and Xander to shame on how much they could eat but Willow honestly hadn’t been surprised. She remembered how much Xander had used to eat back when he was Parker’s age, so she’d been prepared that the little boy would eat a fair few of the yummy treats.

 

“They were really yummy, Willow,” Parker said appreciatively.

 

Willow laughed and nodded. “You helped me make them, Parker, and you were a great helper. I’m sure that your help made them taste extra good.”

 

Parker beamed proudly at the praise. Booth winked at Willow, nodding approvingly at her comment, before he spoke.

 

“Hey, bud, why don’t you and I help Willow out even more by cleaning up since she’s the one who knows how to make the pancakes the best, okay?”

 

“Okay, Daddy.” Parker nodded, smiling at Willow as he began to clear the table. Willow went to get up to help as well.

 

“No, Willow, you don’t do anything. Daddy and I are very good at cleaning up, aren’t we, Daddy?”

 

“We sure are, Parker.”

 

Willow nodded. “Okay then, if you’re sure. I’ll just go and have a shower and get dressed then.”

 

“Go on, we’ll be fine.” Booth shooed her off. Willow scampered off to do what she needed to do.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow emerged from the bathroom feeling clean, warm and refreshed. She had dressed in layers, ready to go outside, like Booth had warned her they might when they went searching for a Christmas tree. Willow couldn’t help but feel excited by the idea of going to buy her first Christmas tree, even through she knew the truth about the many myths behind Christmas (well, the ones about Santa and the magical reindeer. She didn’t want to go into the debate about whether or not the story behind Christmas with the baby Jesus was real or not.)

 

Booth and Parker were in the living room. Parker was watching some cartoons and Booth was rereading the newspaper. They were both already dressed.

 

“I hope I haven’t been keeping you waiting for long,” Willow apologized. Booth shook his head.

 

“No, it’s okay. We’re in no rush, are we, buddy?’

 

“Nope,” Parker said with a smile, looking over at Willow from where he was sitting. He patted the couch beside him.

 

“Come and watch the TV with me, Willow?” Parker asked hopefully. Willow shrugged, having nothing better to do until Booth decided it was time to go, so she sat down on the couch, smiling as Parker immediately snuggled up against her. She wrapped her arm around him and sighed contentedly as they watched the TV together, the world around them melting away like the snow in springtime.

 

Booth found himself being drawn from his newspaper as he spent more time watching his children than reading. He smiled as he watched them. His son and daughter. He never realized what a great phrase that was. His children. Plural. Two young humans whose DNA was half his. Two children who also carried the DNA of two women who Booth had loved at different times of his life. He supposed that he still did love both Carmen and Rebecca. Carmen was his first real love whom he had promised to marry, only to find her gone when he got back from the war, while Rebecca was the girl that had helped him through the aftermath… through the nightmares and the gambling. Carmen had been his high school sweetheart, Rebecca had been his security when he was at his most vulnerable. Neither of them were his soul mate… the love of his life, but they both had contributed to his life significantly and Booth knew he would always care for them both deeply for the rest of his life.

 

He glanced at the clock up on the wall and drained his mug of coffee, deciding that he may as well get Parker and Willow organized to go Christmas tree shopping. He took his empty mug to the kitchen, rinsing it and putting it on the sink, before he went back to the pair.

 

“Hey, you guys ready to go and look for a Christmas tree?” he asked. It was hard for Booth to tell who had the more eager look on their face, Willow or Parker.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He grinned as Parker turned off the TV and ran to get his gloves, scarf and hat. Willow hurried after her younger brother into her room and wrapped as scarf around her neck and put a beanie on her head over her long red hair. She lastly slipped a pair of gloves on and changed her shoes to a pair of boots. Lastly, she grabbed her handbag, checking that she had her purse and camera before heading back out to meet the others.

 

Once he was satisfied that both Willow and Parker were appropriately dressed and he’d put his coat and a scarf on himself, Booth led the way from the apartment, down the stairs and to the SUV. Parker climbed happily into the back seat and Willow took the front passenger seat that was usually occupied by Bones. Booth did his seatbelt up and drove the car from its parking bay, heading out onto the congested city streets.

 

The storm had brought a fresh snowfall and Booth smiled when he caught both Parker and Willow looking at the freshly fallen snow in wonder. He had a feeling that, at some point during Willow’s visit, there would be a snowball fight of some description or at least a snowman being built, not that he had a problem with that. He determined that the next big snowfall they had that he had Parker for, he would either take Parker and Willow to a park that offered great snow play, or to Hodgins’ estate, which Hodgins had offered up for snow play during the winter to Booth.    

  

Eventually they arrived at the Christmas tree farm and they all got out of the car. Willow beamed as she looked around at the trees. Booth tapped her once on the shoulder to get her attention before he led Willow and Parker off to find the perfect tree.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow watched on quietly as Booth set the Christmas tree holder up so that the tree that they’d picked out would be able to stand up. Parker sat beside her, sorting through the ornament boxes that Booth had gotten out from a wardrobe.

 

Willow found herself admiring their tree. It was lush green and very bushy, not too tall but, at the same time, not too short. Parker had picked it out and Willow had to say that her brother had very good taste in Christmas trees.

 

Satisfied that the tree was appropriately placed, Booth turned to face the younger pair.

 

“Alright, so, who wants to put what on?”  

 

Parker immediately held up some brightly coloured baubles, while Willow fingered the bauble that Parker had given her in her hand nervously. She let Parker approach the tree first and studied the little boy as he began to hang the ornaments with care from the green branches. Booth gave her a nod and an encouraging smile, so Willow moved beside her little brother, selecting a branch higher up than Parker’s level and sort of in the middle of the visible surface before she hung the bauble, gingerly letting go, worried that the gift would fall. It stayed where it was, swaying gently as Parker’s movements of the lower branches disturbed it.

 

Booth caught Willow’s eye and smiled at her before he moved over to the box of tree decorations and grabbed a handful of ornaments. He passed some of them to Willow.

 

“Keep going,” he told her. Willow nodded and the three of them, father, daughter and son, worked to gather to beautify the tree in festive glory.

 

Once the tree was finished, Booth flicked a switch and the fairy lights flickered on. Willow couldn’t help but think that it was by far the prettiest tree she had ever seen. Of course, she admitted that she was biased, but still. It looked stunning. Booth got Parker and Willow to pose next to the tree and snapped a picture of the pair, smiling as he thought of where he was going to put it, up in his office.

 

Having finished decorating the tree, the group had a light lunch, before the decorated the rest of the apartment. Willow took a couple of photos on her own camera, so she would be able to show Xander and Buffy when she got home. She made sure that she got ones of Parker and her dad together as well, so she could tell them that it was her dad’s family.

 

The apartment decorated, they dressed up in their warm clothes again, ready to go and visit Pops. Parker packed up his bag, since he’d get dropped off at Rebecca’s on the way home. Willow chewed on her lip nervously as she thought about meeting her great-grandfather. Before now she hadn’t even had a grandparent to her name… Now she had a great-grandfather that she had never met before. Parker took Willow’s hand, tugging at it and leading her towards the apartment door.

 

“Come on Willow, Pops is great. He calls Daddy funny things… He’ll like you,” he reassured. Willow couldn’t stop herself from smiling at Parker’s excitement at the idea of visiting the much older man. So far everyone that Booth had introduced her to had been friendly and accepting towards her, why should his grandfather be any different?

 

Besides, she’d always wanted a grandparent. Now she had a great-grandparent and that was better… wasn’t it?


	31. Chapter 31

By the time Willow left the aged persons’ home alongside Booth and Parker, her sides were aching from giggling so much. Pops, as she’d taken to calling her father’s grandfather, was one of the funniest guys she’d ever met. He’d been full of stories about her father as a little boy and they’d been very amusing. Booth had looked horrified as Pops had told story after story to Parker and Willow, his own cheeks blushing as his two children giggled at his expense. Booth could live with the embarrassment, however, considering the looks of happiness on the faces of his offspring.

 

Booth had also seen the way Pops had looked at Willow. The older man had caught Booth’s eye early on in the visit and beamed, telling Seeley all he needed to know… That Pops approved of Willow and that he was thankful that she existed… even though it did mean that Seeley had gotten his girlfriend pregnant at eighteen. Had he found out at the time, Seeley was sure that he would have been told to marry Carmen (not that he would have objected to it) and to take responsibility (not that he wouldn’t have) or face a serious scolding from his grandfather. He was just grateful that Pops had never approved of using corporal punishment on him and Jared.

 

Glancing across at Willow’s smiling face and seeing Parker’s reflection in the rear vision mirror, Seeley was convinced that his children had enjoyed themselves. He was sure Pops had as well. He always loved it when Parker came to visit him and he’d definitely liked meeting his great-granddaughter for the first time.

 

Parker chattered away as Booth drove towards Rebecca’s house. Willow was sad that her little brother was leaving but she reasoned that she was going to see him again on Christmas day and then he’d be staying for a week. She didn’t know if Booth had plans for that week but she was sure that it was going to be enjoyable.

 

As she let the sound of Parker’s voice wash over her, she wondered what the other Scoobies were doing. She felt guilt well up within her for not having spoken to them in so long and resolved to call them that night. She hoped that it had been quiet or at least nothing overly dangerous that Buffy had faced. She knew that Buffy was a skilled Slayer but there was a good reason that Slayers tended to be short lived. Buffy would most probably never have the opportunity to meet her great-grandchildren. It was sad and Willow knew that ever since confronting the Master Buffy had been forced to deal with her own mortality, but Buffy seemed to have begun to accept her destiny and Willow could only marvel at the courage that her friend had. If Willow had been forced to deal with becoming a Slayer and living through what Buffy had experienced in the year since being called, she was sure that she’d be a quivering mess, wanting to hide from the cruel world in her room and refusing to even get out of bed.

 

Willow was drawn from her musing when she felt Booth nudge her arm gently. She jumped, startled, before realizing that they had arrived at Rebecca’s house. She undid her seat belt and opened the car door, slipping from the car, while Parker and Booth gathered up Parker’s bag of belongings. Willow waited before the three walked up to the house together. Parker rang the doorbell. Rebecca soon answered the door, a festive apron on over her clothes.

 

“Hey, Parker,” she greeted with a wide smile. Parker hugged his mother.

 

“Hi, Mom.”

 

“Did you have a good weekend with your dad?” Rebecca asked.

 

Parker nodded rapidly. “Yep, we went and picked out a Christmas tree and we played in the park and Uncle Jared came over for dinner and we went and saw Pops and I played with Willow a lot,” Parker babbled. Rebecca laughed.

 

“Why don’t you go and put your bags away while I talk to your dad, okay?’

 

“Okay, Mom.” Parker beamed before he ran into the house. Willow caught her father’s eye and, catching the slight inclination of his head, followed her brother into the house, leaving the two adults along in the doorway.

 

“How was he?”

 

“Fine, full of energy.” Booth smiled. Rebecca nodded.

 

“He wasn’t bothered by the storm last night? It sounded pretty bad here.”

 

Booth grinned. “I woke up but he didn’t come into my room. I got up to check on him and he was curled up in bed next to Willow.” He pulled out the camera and showed the picture to Rebecca, who giggled.

 

“Aww, that’s so sweet. That should go in his 1st album, along with a naked bath photo. Willow’s too. It’s such a sweet photo.”

 

“I’ll send it to you,” Booth promised, putting the camera back away in his pocket.

 

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Did you decorate the Christmas tree?”

 

“Yeah, it looks great. Parker taught Willow the finer points of Christmas tree selection and decorating. He was very proud of his student.”

 

“I bet he was.” Rebecca laughed. “Would you like to come in? I’ve been having a baking day and I just got some double choc cookies out of the oven.”

 

Booth felt his mouth water at the thought of Rebecca’s double choc cookies.

 

“Yes, please.”

 

Rebecca laughed. “You Booth boys are all the same. The way to your hearts is through your stomach.”

 

Booth chuckled as he crossed the threshold, closing the door behind him. He could hear Parker’s voice echoing down the stairs from his bedroom.

 

“You still okay to have him from Christmas day for a week?” Rebecca asked. Booth nodded.

 

“I haven’t had any new cases come up in the last few days, so I’m still set.”

 

“Just don’t get locked in the lab again, alright?” Rebecca smiled as she entered the kitchen. Booth rolled his eyes.

 

“That was one time… and I still got out before I was supposed to pick him up.”

 

Rebecca laughed. “I’m just teasing you, Seeley. Now, come on, I need a taste tester for these cookies.”

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow was sad to leave Parker behind with his mother but she reasoned that she would see him again on Christmas day and he’d be staying with her and Special Agent Booth for a week.   Willow smiled to herself as she thought about the bear hug Parker had bestowed upon her when she left.   Rebecca had invited Willow and Booth for a little afternoon tea. She’d made up hot chocolate for Parker and Willow and they’d all had the tastiest double choc cookies Willow had ever had. Xander would have been devastated that he’d missed out.

 

Willow decided that when she got back to the apartment she was going to send the Scoobies an email to tell them about what she’d been doing. Sure, she’d had a couple of short phone calls with them, but it wasn’t the same.   Willow wandered if they were going okay back in Sunnydale. Before she had left, it had appeared that the holiday break was going to be relatively peaceful on the demonic front and Angel and Giles had agreed that vampires and demons tended to keep a low profile at this time of year since there were more crosses about in house decorations but it being Sunnydale, there would still be a couple of vampires or demons that needed slaying.

 

Looking out the SUV window at the darkening evening, Willow wondered what the nightlife was like in D.C. She had no desire to experience it, knowing that their was no way she’d be able to protect herself without Buffy there to watch her back and to get rid of anything that Willow couldn’t handle and Willow was happy to admit that she couldn’t handle anything more that a freshly risen vampire fledgling.

 

Besides, D.C. was a much bigger town than Sunnydale and Willow didn’t know her way around. She was bound to get lost. As much as she didn’t like to admit it, the vampire population of Washington D.C. were safe from any attempts on Willow’s behalf of patrolling.

 

Of course, from her research, it didn’t really appear that D.C. needed patrolling. Sure, there were a few suspicious deaths and disappearances, like in any other city the size of D.C., but the rates were nothing compared to the ones Willow was used to dealing with when she was searching the Sunnydale coroner’s office.

 

Giles had been right. Washington D.C. was virtually a supernatural ghost town, no pun intended.

 

Much to Willow’s relief.

 

Willow followed her father up the stairs to his apartment and walked into the guest room to put her bag down on the bed.   She flopped down on the bed, feeling tired.   Parker had been full of energy and Willow wasn’t very used to little kids.   After the events of Halloween night she’d slept for a full twelve hours, although at the time Willow had just put it down to the effects of dying and then coming back to life after a few hours running around as a ghost.

 

Out in the main room, she heard Booth’s phone go off and sighed, really hoping that it wasn’t a case coming through. Booth had told her that even though the plan originally had been to take Parker back home on Monday, since school was finished, something had come up at the FBI and Booth had to swap on-call hours with another agent.   Booth explained that he tried to avoid having Parker when he was on call because he wanted to keep Parker away from the death and loss of life that was the norm in Booth’s job. Willow understood.   She didn’t want Parker anywhere near her extracurricular activities either for similar reasons.   Of course, generally, the Big Bads of Booth’s world didn’t usually have the potential to have a taste for the flesh or blood of small children.

 

As a general rule…that Gormagon guy that she’d overheard Booth and Brennan talking about hadn’t sounded very nice.

 

Willow found herself shuddering at the very thought of a human eating small children, stripping the flesh from their bones.   Willow swallowed and forced herself to think of other things, like wondering what Booth had planned for the evening.

 

As it turned out though, any plans Booth might have had were just thrown out the window by FBI dispatch.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Willow found herself in the front passenger seat of the SUV, listening to Booth apologize to her profusely about their night being wrecked.  Remains had been found in a park and from the little detail Booth had provided, it sounded very much like Bones’s expertise was going to be needed in order to identify the victim.   Booth was taking Willow to the lab, since he didn’t really want her sitting around alone at night-time in his apartment, thinking she’d get bored, so she could stay with Angela while he picked up Brennan and her equipment and took her out to the crime scene.   As if he’d noticed her weariness, Special Agent Booth had told her that if she wanted to perhaps Angela might let Willow type an email out to her friends back in Sunnydale before she got something to eat and then she could catch a nap in Brennan’s office on the couch if she wanted to.

 

Willow had to admit, the plan did sound enticing, so it was with a small amount of excitement that she slid from the SUV at the Jeffersonian and walked beside Booth to the elevator that would take them to the lab.   Willow rocked on her feet eagerly as they rode the elevator up to the lab before walking down the corridor that lead towards the lab.

 

Dr. Brennan was waiting near the doors with a pair of bags slung over her shoulder.  

 

“Booth,” Bones greeted with a smile before turning to Willow. “I’m sorry that I have to take your father from you tonight,” she said. Willow shrugged.

 

“It’s okay, I’ve still got ages of time before I go home.”

 

Brennan smiled and began to walk toward the lab doors.   Booth gently pulled Willow into a one-armed hug.

 

“Hey, I’ll be back soon.   Angela will look after you.”

 

“Um, Booth, I’m sixteen,” Willow gently reminded him.   Booth chuckled.

 

“Sorry, I forgot about that.   See you later.” He pressed a soft kiss on top of her head and squeezed her shoulder affectionately before he followed after Bones.   Willow watched his retreating back until it was out of sight.

 

“Hey, Sweetie, are you okay?” Angela asked.   Willow jumped, having not heard the artist’s approach.

 

“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” Willow answered, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

 

“So, what do you want to do?   I’m not doing anything at the moment, I can’t do much until Brennan’s finished with the skull so I can start to check for facial features and Hodgins dropped me off here on the way to the crime scene.”

 

Willow dropped her gaze from the other woman shyly.

 

“I was hoping I might be able to send my friends an email, is that okay?”

 

Angela beamed, taking Willow’s hand. “Sure, you can use my computer, just no hacking. I’ve got a couple of security videos of Hodgins and I in the supply closet that Booth would kill me if I let you see.”

 

Willow coughed and felt her cheeks go bright red.

 

“I won’t touch anything I shouldn’t, I promise.”


	32. Chapter 32

Willow focused on the screen in front of her eyes, having used Angela’s computer to log into her own email account.   She didn’t have any emails from the gang (which she kind of expected, as none of them, except for Oz, were overly computer literate), so she opened up a new message box and began to type.

 

_‘To Xander, Buffy, Giles, Angel, Oz, Jenny and Cordy:_

_Sorry I haven’t emailed before now but I’ve been busy. Washington D.C. has been great.   It’s so beautiful here and I’ve seen all the famous monuments they talk about in history class. There is a little bit of snow around but my dad has told me that we’re expected to have some more late next week, which will be fun._

_I’ve met my dad’s work colleague and they’re all really nice. I got invited to the Jeffersonian Christmas party and I spent the whole time talking to them about science and other stuff. It was really interesting. I met my mom’s best friend too (because she works at the lab too). Apparently, I am a lot like my mom, which I thought was really exciting._

_Angela, one of the people who work at the lab (she does facial reconstructions based on skulls) is letting me use her computer to send this because Special Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan and the others are all out on a case and I got left at the lab (it’s a bit weird, like Night At the Museum, without everything coming to life, because that would be scary with all the skeletons walking around). They should be back soon though. Angela’s really funny and she has the coolest setup in the lab with computers and a holographic machine that’s let her run scenarios of how people died. (I haven’t checked to see wether barbeque fork injury to the neck is there yet, though)._

_Dr. Hodgins is a conspiracy theorist by hobby. He’s actually a ‘bugs and dirt’ guy. (I would put the scientific name here but I think Giles would be the only one who understood what I was talking about, no offense.) He thinks I’m super cool because of what I can do with the computers, even though it might be a touch bad… The whole team kind of knows what I did though and nothing’s been said about me getting arrested (thankfully)._

_Zach is Dr. Brennan’s assistant, or at least he was. He’s really cool and sweet and nice and friendly and he’s really… really smart, even though he’s socially not so good, like me, and he kind of babbles with scientific talk but that’s okay, because I can sort of understand what he’s saying, thanks to me studying college biology textbooks because of that thing we were researching a few months back._

_Dr. Brennan is very friendly as well. I can tell that she means a lot to Booth but I don’t know if that’s just because their work partners or if they’re… you know “partners” in the romantic sense. I don’t really mind either way because I think she cares a bit about him too. She’s very serious about their work and she tends to talk about work things even when she’s not at work. (Which Booth doesn’t like, because it tends to be when she’s around me and he tries to protect me from all the bodies and gruesome details even though Angela and Dr. Hodgins know about me finding those guys’ bodies last summer)._

_Dr. Sweets is a psychologist that works with the team, even though he’s based at the FBI with Booth and not at the lab. He’s pretty young, about 24 or 25. (Zach’s a little younger, he’s only just turned 23.)_

_Anyway, so that was on Friday night and then yesterday, I got to meet my little brother. MY LITTLE BROTHER!!!_

_Sorry, just a tad excited by that._

_Anyway, he’s just as cute in real life as his picture is. All big brown eyes and blonde ringlets. He gave me a framed picture of himself and Dad and me that he’d drawn and a bauble with my name on it, a special decoration that was mine that I could put on the Christmas tree. Booth, Parker and I went to a playground and Parker and I played tag before we went home and Booth made us hot chocolate and we watched some movies. Then my uncle came around._

_Yes, I have an uncle, his name is Jared.   He’s very funny.   We had dinner together and watched a movie.   After that Parker and I went to bed.   During the night there was a storm and Parker crawled into bed with me and it was so adorable. I think he was pretending that he was protecting me from the storm. Today I made choc chip pancakes for breakfast (stop drooling, Xander) and then we went and picked out a Christmas tree and decorated it. It looks so beautiful and I hung my bauble on it (as well as a few other bits and pieces that were in the decorations box.)   It was such a nice thing to do together (decorate a Christmas tree, except don’t tell my dad I said that).   After lunch we went and visited my great grandfather.   He’s really funny and I could tell that he dotes on Parker and he seemed to like me too, which was great. Considering that before this came out, it was just Ira and Sheila and me, I feel overwhelmed with relatives.   No grandparents, but a great grand-dad and a brother and an uncle._

_Booth has asked me if I want him to track down my mother’s family. Apparently both my grandparents have passed away and she had no siblings, but he could check around for more relatives.   I told him not now, since I’m still getting used to all this._

_Anyway, Parker’s back at home with his mom now but he’ll be back for a full week from Wednesday afternoon.   I don’t know what I’m going to do for the next few days and it’ll depend on how quickly Dad and Dr. Brennan close the case they’ve just started.   Hopefully I’ll get some time to do some sightseeing and I’ve been promised a personalized tour of the Jeffersonian, which I’m really looking forward to._

_I hope things haven’t been too busy lately and that you’re all having a nice break from school (and other things). If I don’t email again before then, happy Christmas._

_Your friend,_

_Willow.’_

 

Willow double-checked the email, knowing that because she was sending it through Angela’s computer someone might be able to read it later.   Satisfied that nothing about the Hellmouth specifically had been mentioned, she hit the send button and turned to face Angela, who was keeping a respectful distance, working on a holographic Christmas tree.

 

“Oh, wow,” Willow exclaimed. “That looks awesome.”

 

Angela laughed. “Thanks. Did you get your email typed up and sent?”

 

“Yes. I babbled a lot though and it’s really long but I said everything I needed to, except that bit about Booth being as better dancer than Angel but I think I’ll save that for the next time Buffy and I are alone together.”

 

Angela chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like a conversation for girly chat.  What do you want to do now?”

 

Willow shrugged, looking around Angela’s office.

 

“Well, I think we should order some Chinese for dinner and then maybe you could help me finish off this.” She gestured at the holographic Christmas tree. “And then we can decorate the lab a little more, okay?”

 

Willow smiled and Angela got her coat and bag while Willow picked up hers before Angela wrote a quick note to the others.

 

‘Hi, taken Willow to a strip club, be back by dawn… Only kidding. Gone to get some Chinese for dinner, we’ll be back by 8. Angela.’

 

Willow giggled shyly when she saw the note and Angela stuck it tho the lab door so Booth and Hodgins were guaranteed to see it before they hurried form the lab.

 

“This place is only just down the corner, so we can walk there, which is good, because my car’s back at Hodgins’ place.”

 

Willow nodded and followed Angela through the lab and out the main door, waving to the security guards before heading off to the restaurant. The restaurant, while not as good as Wong Fu’s, was still pretty good and Angela ordered her favorite. Willow simply chose what sounded appealing. They got it to take away and Angela grabbed a bottle of soda for them to share while they ate.    

 

Once the food was cooked, they carried their dinner back to the lab. Angela led Willow up to the break room, where they collected cups and some cutlery before they headed to the couce’s that overlooked the lab to eat.

 

“So, Willow, what’s been the highlight of your trip so far?” Angela asked. Willow stabbed a piece of meat with her fork thoughtfully.

 

“Um, probably the Jeffersonian party and getting to spend last night with my uncle, my brother and Special Agent Booth for the first time. That was really cool.”

 

“I can only imagine.” Angela beamed. “Is it weird, knowing that the people you thought were your parents for your whole life aren’t actually even related to you?”

 

Willow shrugged. “Kind of, I guess. At first I was really upset by it all, especially when I found out that my actual mom had died not long after I was born.”

 

“Aww, sweetie, I’m sorry. Brennan showed me the case file from when she was found.”

 

“What was the determined cause of death?” Willow asked, wanting to see if their was anything potentially Hellmouthy about her mother’s death

 

“Malnourishment, pretty much. Brennan told me that your dad told her that her body was found out in this little cave not far from the hospital where you were born.   When it got investigated, they found out that Carmen had been struggling to make ends meet throughout the pregnancy and it didn’t get better after you were born. Her landlord kicked her out and the town she was in didn’t have a homeless shelter she could go to.   Brennan said that it appeared that the cave she was found in was where it looked like she’d been living, for about four months prior to her death.

 

Willow gulped and nodded, swallowing the last of her dinner and putting the empty box down before she rubbed her hands over her face, willing her tears not to fall.   Her mom must have been so sad and alone up in that cave by herself. Alone, with no money, no friends or family, the love of her life overseas fighting in a war he might not come back from, the daughter she had carried for 9 months gone to another family.   Willow couldn’t help but sob at the idea. Angela was at her side in a moment, engulfing Willow in a tight embrace.

 

“Aww, sweetie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

 

Willow cried on Angela’s shoulder as the artist rubbed her back soothingly.

 

“Shh, sweetie, it’s okay. I’m sure she’s happy now, watching over you and Booth from Heaven,” Angela soothed, rocking a little on the couch and holding Willow in her arms. Angela couldn’t help but feel motherly towards Willow.   Brennan had told her that Willow had probably been neglected by her adoptive parents and the only reason Booth hadn’t acted was because of Willow’s friends and their loyalty to her. The younger girl had never had a mother figure and Angela was willing to bet that she, Brennan and Cam would all by vying for the role, although Brennan did have an advantage since she was obviously in love with Booth, even though neither of them were aware of the fact.

 

Angela didn’t care who ended up taking up the role of being Willow’s foster mom in D.C., since it was obvious to her that all of the team cared about the teenager, but right at that moment, Angela knew that she was all that Willow had to comfort her and she wasn’t going to let Willow or Booth down.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth led the squints and the FBI agents wheeling the stretchers into the lab. It had taken longer than he had anticipated to gather all of the evidence, determine whether the cause of death was a murder, and for Bones and Cam to be satisfied that they had everything that they needed. Hodgins had been busily finishing up collecting dirt and particulate samples from around the body when he and Bones had headed back to the lab.

 

“Willow,” Booth called out when he didn’t see either Willow or Angela emerge. Bones was busy transferring the remains onto a table up on the platform with Cam.

 

“In here,” he heard Angela call. Knowing that Bones and Cam wouldn’t need him at that stage, he walked towards Angela’s office. He stopped in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorframe as he looked into the room, a smile spreading across his face.

 

The Christmas tree displayed on the holographic display in Angela’s office, which earlier had only been half finished, looked stunning. Willow was holding the control tablet, using it to add some fine detail, while Angela watched on, beaming appreciatively at Willow. Booth rolled his eyes. Naturally Willow’s inner computer geek squint would fall in love with the high tech equipment in the lab.

 

“Hey, Booth, didn’t she do a great job?” Angela said, catching his eye. Willow looked across at him and Booth could see the happiness in the teenager’s eyes as she played with the new piece of technology.

 

Why did he get the feeling that when Willow was staying with him, she would be spending a lot of time at the lab?


	33. Chapter 33

Willow had come to the conclusion that she now understood what was meant when it was said that someone felt like a child on Christmas morning. She didn’t know where to go and she felt excitement burning in her gut, barely repressing the urge to jump up and down in excitement.

 

Booth was still caught up in the case and Dr. Brennan had decided that she was not in need of Zach for the day, so Booth had tasked Zach with the job of showing Willow around the Jeffersonian for the day, but not before he had been given a lengthy lecture that involved a fair bit of Booth threatening to shoot Zach. Zach was still recovering from the shakes when they finally left the lab fifteen minutes later.

 

“Is he that likely to shoot you?” Willow asked as they walked away from the platform.

 

Zach nodded. “I have observed through my studies that in almost all cultures, fathers are very protective of their offspring. Modern western culture is no exception. Booth has shown that he cares for you and Parker quite a bit and I do not doubt that he would kill anyone who harmed either of you.”

 

Willow paused. “I suppose you are right. I’m not used to having a dad that is that… devoted to my health and safety. Ira cared, well more than my mom anyway, but I can never imagine him killing or even threatening to shoot someone who could potentially hurt me.”

 

“Honestly, I cannot imagine my father doing something like that either,” Zach admitted. “Maybe when I was very young, but not in my memory. My father favored my older brothers and sisters, he didn’t understand me. My mother doted on me though, she is very proud of everything I have accomplished. I’m sorry that you feel that your mother didn’t care for you.”

 

“I’m sorry that you feel that your dad didn’t care for you,” Willow said. Zach smiled at her before leading her out of the lab doors to their first destination.

 

Booth watched the retreating backs of the pair, the rest of the squints beside them.

 

“They are going to have so much fun today.” Angela beamed. The others all looked at her in surprise, except for Hodgins, who was nodding.

 

“She’s right, he’ll be thrilled because he gets to talk about all the science stuff, and she’ll soak up everything like a sponge. Face it Booth, your daughter’s gonna grow up to be a squint of some sort.”

 

“I think it’s good for them both. Zach’s a lot closer to her in age than the rest of us, it’ll be good for her to spend time with him, since she probably misses her friends a bit,” Cam added.

 

Booth shrugged, not really caring. Despite his threats, he trusted Zach to look after Willow, and to protect her. As long as Willow was happy and Zach didn’t mind showing her around, then Booth was content with the situation.

 

And, well, Zach had seemed a little off ever since he’d come back from Iraq. Maybe a day out of the lab just being able to relax and talk about something he loved with no pressure would do the youngest squint some good.

 

Despite the widely held belief, Booth actually didn’t mind the guy.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow and Zach were almost bouncing when they returned to the lab at five o’clock, their designated time that they had to be back. Booth only had to take one look at the pair to know that he’d made the right decision. The youngest squint and his daughter were smiling happily, both looking relaxed and content.

 

“Hey, kiddies, did you have a fun day?” Hodgins asked as they approached the main platform, coming down the steps to meet the pair, since strictly speaking Willow wasn’t supposed to be up on the platform.  

 

“It was very enjoyable. It is not very often that I get to show someone around the Jeffersonian who shares my interest in science and technology,” Zach said. Willow blushed at the compliment.

 

“It was really interesting, I feel like I’ve learned heaps,” she added.

 

Hodgins nodded. “Right, that’s just sad,” he sighed, shaking his head.

 

“I thought it would be good if we both enjoyed the day, not sad,” Zach queried. Jack rolled his eyes.

 

“Never mind. Anyway, you’ve missed out on a great case. It’s not over yet but the victim we found in the park, well, the reason he was so hard to identify was that he’d been drained of blood. His body was literally dehydrated. It’s like he’s been left out in the sun, except we have evidence of him walking around two days ago. His internal tissue has virtually shrivelled up, like a prune. I’ve never seen anything like this before, it’s like he’s been sucked dry of all his bodily fluids.”

 

“Hodgins,” Booth growled, overhearing what he was saying. “Stop talking about the case in front of my daughter.”

 

“Oh, right. Sorry, Willow.”

 

“It’s okay,” Willow managed, her mind having been processing what Jack had said. She felt slightly ill. Not from the detail Hodgins had offered, but from the likelihood of a supernatural cause being behind the victim’s death.

 

Willow was dimly aware that someone was saying her name and tried to clear her head, realizing with a start that it was Booth, who was looking increasingly concerned. He was holding her arm and leading her towards Brennan’s office.

 

“I’m okay, Dad,” Willow managed weakly.

 

“You sure? You looked like you were about to faint or something, not that I would blame you if you did, because it’s not a nice case.”

 

“It sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it?”

 

“Yeah, it’s giving me the creeps, actually. Listen, I’ve gotta finish up back here for a bit and then we’ll head to the diner and have some dinner. You probably don’t feel like it now, but you’ll feel up for it later.” Booth gently pushed Willow down on Brennan’s sofa. “Have a rest while you wait. Zach’s gone to get a bucket for if you feel sick, okay?’

 

Willow nodded and Booth ran his fingers calmingly through her hair. Willow liked the way it felt on her head. Calming and soothing.

 

She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling, dimly hearing the sound of Zach’s feet hurrying into the office, leaving the bucket at one end of the couch should she need it and then hurrying off again at Booth’s request.

 

“I’ll be back to check on you soon,” Booth promised, stilling his hand and kissing her on the forehead. Willow opened her eyes and smiled up at him, before watching him leave the office. Once she was sure that he was out of earshot and eyeshot, Willow reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone, turning her back to the security cameras to hide what she was doing and saying, Willow dialed a number from memory.

 

“Rupert Giles,” Giles said in greeting as he picked up the phone.

 

“Giles, it’s me,” Willow said quietly, glancing towards the door nervously.

 

“Willow, I wasn’t expecting a phone call from you. Is everything alright?”

 

“No, um, my dad and his team have a case at the moment and it sounds like, you know, one of our things.” Willow double-checked at that moment to ensure that she was quite alone. She had no desire of being accused of being involved in a murder investigation because someone had overheard her making a suspicious-sounding phone call.  

 

“Ah, I see. So, the victim is a demon or a human slain by a demon?” Giles replied.

 

“A human slain by a demon, I think. Its entire body has been drained of fluids. Apparently it looks like it’s been dehydrated, although he was walking around like normal two days ago.”

 

“Very well, I have my suspicions on what it might be. I’ll do some research and get back to you. I have a contact in D.C. that should be able to take care of it.”

 

“That’s good because I kind of froze up when I heard about it, so I kind of doubt that I’m going to be left alone any time soon to allow me to go slaying. Well, that and I’m not very good at the whole actual slaying thing yet,” Willow added.

 

Giles sighed. “Considering the circumstances, you and Xander should be very proud of the progress you have made as far as your training is concerned. I have noticed the improvements you have both made over time and it has been wonderful to observe.”

 

Willow was beaming at the praise. “Thanks, Giles. As it is though, I might leave it to your contact.”

 

“That’s fine Willow. I’ll call you back with further details.”

 

“Bye.”

 

“Goodbye Willow, thank you for informing me.”

 

Willow hung up and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

 

Now that she was sitting down on the couch and it was quite comfortable, Willow realized how tired she actually was, so she shrugged her shoulders and lay down for a quick snooze.

  

By the time Booth came back into the office ten minutes later, she was snoring softly, her chest rising and falling evenly with each breath she took. Booth stood in the doorway, watching her sleep with a large, somewhat dopey smile on his face before he crossed the floor, grabbing the blanket that usually lived on the couch off an arm chair and draping it over Willow’s sleeping form, running his fingers tenderly through her hair once before stepping away, not once noticing a smiling Bones watching the entire interaction with a smile on her face from the doorway.


	34. Chapter 34

Willow jerked awake as she heard something vibrate on the bedside table, rattling against the clock. She peered blearily at the digital display on the clock. Six o’clock. Willow scowled, before picking up the phone and answering the phone, sleepily muffling her yawn.

 

“Good morning?”

 

“Willow, I hope I have not woken you?”

 

“Giles? Shouldn’t you be asleep? It’s, like, three o’clock in the morning in Sunnydale.”

 

“Oh, you are right; I hadn’t even realized how late it was. I was rather preoccupied reading up on demons that would inflict the wounds you described to me.”

 

“Oh, did you find anything?” Willow asked, watching the bottom of her door to ensure that a light hadn’t come on, indicating that her dad had been woken up. It looked like he’d slept through the noise of her phone going off though, much to Willow’s relief.

 

“Yes, actually,” Giles said enthusiastically. “The demon you described is a rare variety, distantly related to vampires. Born, or rather hatched in its own form, the demon hunts in dark areas for its prey, usually smaller animals like rats, cats, and dogs or in rural areas sheep, pigs, chickens, and cows before it bites them. The demon’s venom causes paralysis, allowing it to drain its victims of blood without having to deal with the victim struggling. It is unusual for one of these demons to attack a human, although it has been known to happen when the opportunity presents itself. Was there evidence of the victim having consumed a high level of alcohol prior to being killed?”

 

“I don’t think so, but it was mentioned that he was found in an alleyway attached to a bar, so it’s possible,” Willow ventured.

 

“Not to worry. These demons are not very violent and are not strong fighters, which is why they tend to avoid humans and stick to killing small animals. I have a colleague that lives not far from the capitol that will easily be able to hunt and kill the creature. Thank you for informing me of the situation though, Willow. I understand it must have been very frightening to face a killing such as that so far from Sunnydale. At least here it is expected.”

 

“It wasn’t frightening but it was a little thought-provoking. It made me realize that I’m never really going to be able to let go of what I’ve seen and lived through in Sunnydale.”

 

“Yes, unfortunately. Once you enter this lifestyle, it is rather hard to leave it behind. Anyway, I shall contact my friend, then go to bed. I had honestly not realized how late it was. I’ll let you go back to bed. I’ll probably speak to you later today or tomorrow when you and Xander catch up.”

 

“All right, Giles, good night.” Willow smiled before hanging up and flopping back down onto her pillow with a sigh. Knowing that the demon problem was being taken care of, she felt a sense of relief wash over her and she gradually dozed back off.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

It was late in the morning when Willow woke up again, realizing with a pang that it was Christmas Eve (a thought that had evaded her earlier during Giles’ phone call due to her sleepiness). Smiling, she showered and got dressed in warm clothes before making herself some brunch as she read the note her father had left her.

 

_‘Willow, you looked pretty tired last night, so I though I’d let you sleep in and have the day to yourself. If you need me for whatever reason, you can call my cell phone._

_Booth/Dad’_

Willow smiled as she read the note before she cleaned the table, washing the dishes she had used during her breakfast before sitting back down on the couch, contemplating what she could do. A sudden thought crossed her mind, sending her hurrying to her room, fishing a notebook and a pen out of her bag before returning to the couch and writing out a list on the paper.

 

_Dad_

_Parker_

_Uncle Jared_

_Pops_

_Dr. Brennan_

_Zach_

_Angela_

_Dr. Hodgins_

_Dr. Saroyen_

_Dr. Sweets_

_Rebecca_

 

Willow sat on the couch, contemplating the list, tapping the pen on the paper thoughtfully as she looked at it. She had gotten Parker a Christmas present before she had left Sunnydale and one for her Dad as well but she hadn’t known who else she would be spending the holiday season with, so she hadn’t gotten anything else.

 

A day to herself would however give her to opportunity to do some Christmas shopping. While it was true that it was very close to Christmas, and that the shopping centres would be insanely busy, Willow thought she would be able to handle it.

 

Ideas starting to come to mind, she wrote down a couple of potential ideas beside the name of each person on her list. As she wrote, the phone rang. She reached out with one hand to answer it.

 

“Hello, Booth residence, Willow speaking.”

 

“Hi, Willow,” Booth greeted through the phone cheerfully.

 

“Dad, hi, how’s the case going?”

 

“Good, we’ve almost cracked it. What are you up to today?”

 

“I’ve had a lazy morning,” Willow admitted. “But I’m thinking this afternoon I might do some Christmas shopping.”

 

“You’re brave.” Booth chuckled. “Do you want me to send Angela for back up?”

 

Willow laughed. “I think I’ll be okay. Is there a place that you recommend?”

 

“There’s a big shopping center a few blocks down from the apartment that I go to. It’s got a decent range of shops and it’s pretty big, so they’ve got lots of stuff and because it’s not in the middle of town, it won’t be as busy as some of the other shopping centers. It’s five blocks to the west of my apartment.”

 

“Okay, then, that sounds great.” Willow smiled happily. “I’ll see you later?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll be by there when I’m done here so we can go out for dinner. Hodgins has invited us around for lunch tomorrow before we go and pick up Parker from Rebecca’s parents’ place at five.”

 

“Sounds great, I’ll see you when you get home. If I’m running late and won’t be home by five, I’ll call you,” Willow promised.

 

“Be careful while shopping. It can be dangerous out there, you know,” Booth cautioned.  


Willow dissolved into giggles, thinking of how strange it would be if she, having survived the Hellmouth for the first sixteen years of her life and having fought the powers of darkness for almost a year, was killed by a crowd of obsessed shoppers.

 

Although, thinking of Cordelia, it was actually quite a frightening situation she was going to be placing herself in.

 

“Bye, Dad,” Willow said.

 

“Bye, Willow,” Booth replied. Willow hung up, sighing when she surveyed her list. Knowing that there was not time like the present and that her ideas were appropriate for each recipient, Willow went and got her handbag, slipping her list into it and double-checking that she had her phone, purse, and keys before she picked up her coat, scarf, and beanie and let herself out of the apartment, heading for the shops.

 

‘Buffy would be so proud of me,’ Willow found herself thinking as she headed for the mall, bravely going to face one of the busiest days in the shopping year.

 

Christmas Eve.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth was still grinning when he walked into the lab.

 

“What are you so happy about?” Cam asked with a wry grin as she watched Zach examine the bones laid out on the table at the center of the platform, looking for something that would break the case wide open.

 

“Willow… She’s going shopping today,” Booth replied as he went up onto the platform.

 

“Oh, she’s brave,” Angela said as she swiped her card to follow him up.

 

“That’s what I told her,” Booth told the artist. Zach frowned.

 

“I don’t understand why going shopping on Christmas Eve is so different from going shopping any other day? Shopping is not an experience that usually requires bravery.”

 

“It’s crazily busy, Z-Man, all the people trying to get the last minute presents that they’ve forgotten. Some people deliberately leave it to the last minute while others don’t have time to do it beforehand. It’s one of the busiest days of shopping in the year, like Black Friday,” Hodgins explained carefully.

 

“Oh. I never leave it to the last minute. I try to have all of my Christmas shopping done by the first of December,” Zach said.

 

Angela smiled. “We aren’t all as organized as you, sweetie.”

 

“I have found in the past that few are,” Zach admitted.

 

Hodgins snorted. “You’ve got that right, Zach.”

 

“I have found in the past that Zach is often right... what is he right about now?” Brennan asked, having just returned from her office.

 

“Him being an organized person. We were just discussing when people do their Christmas shopping and Zach said that he tried to get all of his done before December first,” Angela explained to her best friend. Brennan snapped on her gloves.

 

“Oh, in that case, I agree with him. Zach is a very organized person. I too usually have all my shopping done at that point of time. What brought this discussion up?”

 

“Willow… she’s going to do her Christmas shopping today, on one of the busiest shopping days of the year… beyond black Friday,” Cam answered.

 

“That is a logical thing for Willow to have done. Prior to coming to D.C., Willow knew little about Booth and the rest of her relatives. Now that she has met them all she has more of an idea as to what sort of present each individual would most appreciate,” Brennan reasoned before she bent over the bones, studying some abnormality that Zach had identified.

 

Booth nodded and the group slid up to do their own thing. Their previous case, the man whose body had been sucked dry of blood, had gone cold and faced with having no leads, had been put on the backburner. Booth knew that Bones had not been happy with the development and had shared his own disappointment with her but at that point in time, there was little they could do. A new case had turned up early that morning though and Booth was confident that his team of squints would have the case sealed up by the end of the day, as it was a fairly simple, open-and-shut case, especially for Bones and her team of experts.

 

Of course, Booth was really hoping that his optimism hadn’t jinxed them. He really didn’t want to spend his first Christmas with Willow working on a case. Willow had never experienced a real Christmas before and Booth was not going to be the one who wrecked it for her.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow groaned in relief when she closed the door behind her, putting her shopping bags down beside the door and rubbing at her aching shoulders. She’d never been so worn out after a shopping trip before.   Even the one time when Cordelia and Buffy had taken her shopping hadn’t been this tiring. Of course, Willow reasoned, they’d all been shopping for themselves that day and Willow didn’t particularly like shopping for herself while on the other hand, she loved shopping for gifts for her friends and now, her family. She looked at the bags, admitting that she might have gone a tad overboard but she still felt like she was organized.   She’d even remembered to buy a pair of rolls of wrapping paper, some gift tags, and some sticky tape.

 

Knowing that Buffy would be proud of the way Willow had handled the mall… even though she was still in shock that there had been so many people there, Willow picked up her bags, carrying them into the living room. She went and put her bag in her room before she went back to the living room and switched on the TV. She set about wrapping up the mass of presents that she had bought, carefully labeling each one with their intended recipient.

 

Willow carefully wrapped each present, using, as she had a habit of doing, a little too much sticky tape. She reasoned, however, that logically-thinking scientists would be able to get around sticky tape without much of a problem.

 

She was about halfway through her wrapping when the show that had been on the TV finished and another show started. Willow smiled and looked up at the screen when she heard the familiar sounds of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special come on. She beamed, leaving her wrapping to run to her bag and fetch her phone before retuning to the living room, dialling Xander’s familiar number from memory.

 

“This is Xander,” Xander greeted.

 

“Xander… guess what I’m watching right now?” Willow said excitedly into the phone.

 

“I don’t know, what?”

 

“The Charlie Brown Christmas Special,” Willow squealed. Xander laughed.

 

“I guess you don’t need to sneak out to watch it, not this year anyway, huh, Wills?”

 

“I know, definitely not,” Willow said, watching the characters of the classic cartoon move across the screen. “Booth asked me if I wanted to go to midnight mass with him, although he told me that he didn’t mind if I didn’t, you know, with the Jewish thing and all. I though about it but I decided I shouldn’t. I know that they’re not around very often but the Rosenbergs are my adoptive parents… if it weren’t for them, who knows where I would have ended up? I would probably never have moved to Sunnydale and I never would have met you and Jesse and Buffy and Giles and Oz and even Cordelia, so I thought I should respect their beliefs and the beliefs they raised me with.”

 

“That’s my Wills, always thinking of others. Seriously, though, you think them bringing you to Sunnydale, aka, the Hellmouth is a good thing… meeting Cordelia is a good thing?”

 

“You’re the one dating her, Xander,” Willow pointed out. Xander laughed sheepishly.

 

“Yeah, well, that is true,” he admitted.

 

“I’ll call you tomorrow, I promise. You look after yourself tonight, okay?”

 

“I will,” Xander promised. “You make sure you do the Snoopy dance and think of me, okay?”

 

“I will,” Willow promised before they exchanged farewells and hung up. Willow returned her attention to finishing up her wrapping. Booth was going to be home soon and she didn’t want him knowing what was inside any of the brightly colored parcels.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Booth unlocked his apartment door, letting himself into the residence. He smiled, hearing the sound of the TV coming from the living room. Obviously Willow was home. He put away his gun in the gun safe and hung up his coat in the hallway closet before he headed for the living room to greet his daughter. His mouth dropped in the doorway.

  
Willow was standing on the living room floor, dancing the Snoopy dance, watching the same dance being performed on the screen. Not even thinking, Booth whipped out his phone and began to record Willow’s dancing, barely containing his laughter, a wide grin spread across his face. He felt his worries of the day… of the unsolved case and his fears about Willow’s safety, drift away as he watched his daughter dancing away in a moment of childish contentment, blissfully unaware of his presence and of that of his phone.

 

The final notes of the song petered out and Willow dissolved into giggles as she stopped dancing before she turned and spotted him. She let out a scream of surprise, stepping back and tripping over something. She vanished from sight, Booth’s view blocked by the couch.

  
“You okay, Willow?” Booth put the phone away and walked around the couch. Willow was getting back up.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, just got surprised and tripped over this.” She waved a roll of wrapping paper. Booth grinned.

 

“Care to explain the Snoopy dance?” he asked jokingly. Willow shrugged her shoulders, ducking her head in embarrassment.

 

“The Snoopy dance is… was my only positive experience of Christmas prior to this year. Every year I would sneak out to Xander’s house and we’d watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special together and his mom would make us popcorn and hot chocolate and we would do the Snoopy dance together.”

 

“Sounds like it meant a lot to you both,” Booth commented.

 

“I went over there before I left to come here and we fulfilled the tradition but I was watching TV after I went shopping and it came on.”

 

Booth smiled at the innocence of it all and for the first time he realized how young Willow was. She was sixteen and she wasn’t as innocent as Parker, but she was still a child and there was still a definite innocence about her that Booth loved and he hoped she would never lose that part of her.

 

“Listen, we’ve got heaps of time. Do you want to watch the rest of this and then we can get ready for dinner. How does that sound?”

 

Willow smiled. “Great,” she beamed, plopping down on the couch. Booth sat down beside her and together they watched the rest of the children’s cartoon, both of them relishing in the moment, a moment of innocence between a father and a daughter, and the childish world of cartoon entertainment.


	35. Chapter 35

Booth waited in the living room, having gotten changed when he and Willow had finished watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Willow was almost ready, just putting her shoes on before they were going to head out to the diner for a Christmas Eve dinner. Booth waited patiently, his eyes looking around the room until he spotted the neat pile of presents sitting underneath the Christmas tree, carefully wrapped in festive wrapping and labeled with Willow’s easily readable handwriting. Booth felt his eyebrows rise at the size of the stack before he felt his heart warm at Willow’s obvious generosity. Booth was willing to bet that Willow balked at the thought of buying things for herself but when it came to buying for others, it was clear to see that she was far more comfortable.  
  
“I’m ready,” Willow beamed, emerging from her room with a smile on her face. She was bundled up against the cold of the evening with a warm jumper, jeans, and a coat on.   
  
Booth nodded and opening the door for her, allowing Willow to lead the way out of the apartment. They kept a comfortable silence between them during the drive to the diner with Willow admiring the bright lights of the festive displays in shop windows and on apartment buildings they passed, as well as the public areas that were decorated. It all looked very pretty, just like it did on TV and in pictures.  
  
Booth parked his car outside the diner and Willow hopped out, almost slipping on the sidewalk. She only avoided landing on her backside by gripping very tightly onto the car door. Booth’s expression was comical as he fought his instinct to laugh.  
  
“Are you okay?” he asked as Willow carefully got herself away from the guilty patch of concrete and ice.  
  
“Yep,” Willow said before she dissolved into giggles. Seeing that she was alright and obviously saw the humor in the situation as well, Booth started laughing too. They were still chuckling when they walked into the diner.   
  
“What’s so amusing?” Sweets asked from where he sat in the gang’s regular booth beside Cam.  
  
“I slipped on the pavement and almost landed on my butt. Maybe there was some ice or something. I’m not used to ice on the sidewalk. In Sunnydale, ice belongs in ice rinks and in freezers,” Willow admitted. Hodgins snorted into his mug of coffee and Angela, Cam and Sweets all laughed outright.  
  
“I imagine that it would be difficult to adjust,” Brennan commented. “Are you sure you are not hurt?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking, though.” Willow smiled, sitting down in an unoccupied spot. Booth sat down beside her. A waitress approached the group and they all gave their orders. Willow was quiet as the teams discussed their plans for the following few days, which, barring them getting a case, they would have off from work. Angela chatted about how her father was going to be in town for a few days over Christmas, so she and Jack would be catching up with him. Cam was going to head home for the holidays to visit her parents back in New York while Zach commented that his sister, who lived in Seattle, had just had a baby and his parents were spending the Christmas with her. It would be the first Christmas he had not gone home and spent with his parents. Willow could see the sadness in his eyes and hoped that her gift for him cheered him up a little when she gave it to him. Brennan’s brother was out of town for the holidays, visiting his girlfriend’s parents, but her father was coming to visit her over the holidays, which she was obviously looking forward to. Sweets was planning on having a quiet holiday but Hodgins had given him an open invitation to come up to the Hodgins estate if he was feeling lonely.   
  
Willow, on the other hand, learned more about what was in store for her and Booth for Christmas. After lunch with Hodgins and Angela, they would go and collect Parker with Bones before going to Bones’ house and having Christmas dinner with Jared and Bones’ father, Max. Apparently that would be particularly interesting because Max was a criminal, who Booth had past tensions with. Willow hoped that things would remain pleasant during the holiday season. She didn’t want to be involved in any family arguments like the ones Xander talked about following every Christmas.  
  
As they waited for their meals to arrive, Willow’s phone beeped. She quickly pulled her phone from her bag and checked the screen. She had a new message from Xander. She excused herself politely, ducking away from the table and opening up the text.  
  
_‘Giles told me to tell you that the demon in D.C. you reported has been dealt with. U mentioned having dinner with your dad tonight. Have a good one. Will call tomorrow. X.’_  
  
Willow smiled as he shut down the message before returning to the table.  
  
“Anything wrong?” Booth asked. Willow shook her head.   
  
“No, just some good news from home, that’s all.”  
  
Booth nodded, respecting Willow’s privacy enough to not push for details. Perhaps if he’d been her father for longer, it would be different but given how new everything was, Booth really didn’t think he had the right to butt in.  
  
“That’s good. Good news is always preferable to bad news,” Zach said, effectively drawing attention away from Willow as Hodgins laughed, shaking his head and ruffling Zach’s hair affectionately, like a big brother would.  
  
Willow smiled at Zach, silently thanking him. She saw Zach incline his head, as if he was acknowledging her thanks. Glad that she’d found such a good friend in Zach, Willow settled back in her seat comfortably. Willow found herself studying the group, realizing that not only was there a striking similarity between the friendship dynamics between Booth and the squints, and the Scoobies, but that Booth and his team were like a family as well. Not a family like hers, with absent parents, or like Xander’s, where alcohol was far too prominent, or Buffy’s, which was broken beyond repair, but like the families that were on TV shows, in movies and in books that Willow had watched, seen and read. With a start, Willow realized that she was a part of this family too and the thought made her feel warm and safe.   
  
Booth and Brennan were undoubtedly the parents, holding everyone together and stopping things from getting completely out of hand.   
  
Cam was like the aunt or the big sister. She bossed the others around and kept them safe from harm, while at the same time making sure that they were all happy and that they didn’t burn the house down.   
  
Hodgins and Angela were like the very cool middle siblings, despite the fact that they were madly in love with one another. Hodgins aggravated Cam and obviously admired Brennan’s talents, while he was impressed with Booth. He was also the rebellious wild child and the most likely to do something potentially dangerous. Angela was close to Dr. Brennan and Willow could see the artist also serving the role of Brennan’s best friend.   
  
Then there was Sweets and Zach. Although Sweets wasn’t as close to the rest of the team as the others, he was still a valued member. He followed after Booth a lot, perhaps hoping for some attention from the father figure. Willow felt guilty for have robbed Sweets of the opportunity to bond with Booth over the last few months, especially as Cam had told her at one point that Booth had spent a lot of time thinking about her ever since he’d found out that she existed. Like Sweets, Zach too was desperate to gain approval, acknowledgment and praise from Booth and Brennan. Even though he was still practically Dr. Brennan’s assistant, Willow could see the way that Zach looked at Booth, rather like Xander looked at Giles. She knew the longing in that look, the look that said that the younger male wanted so badly to be considered as being a beneficial part of the team by the older male, or the alpha male. Sweets was more subtle about it, so Willow wasn’t sure how to read him, but with Zach it was apparent. With Zach, though, there was a sort of fear towards Booth, part genuine fear, part overawed hero worship. Willow found it oddly endearing.  
  
Finally, there was her. After such a short period of time Willow couldn’t even begin to guess where exactly in the family dynamic she belonged. She guessed she would be the baby sister, making Parker the baby brother. Despite her not knowing where exactly she belong in the structure of the family Willow knew that she did have a place… she belonged, just like she belonged to the Scoobies and she belonged in Sunnydale.  
  
Of course, Willow reasoned as she considered her thought process, she really should stop trying to think like someone like Sheila Rosenberg (she knew she shouldn’t have read her mother’s books before her trip), relax and enjoy herself. It was Christmas Eve and Willow knew she would be in for an interesting next couple of days.  
  
BtVS/BONES   
  
Willow woke with a start, wondering what on earth had caused her sudden return to consciousness. It certainly wasn’t her alarm or her phone, both of which were turned off. Maybe it had something to do with the feeling churning in her gut. It took her a few moments of sleepy thought to realize that the feeling was excitement and anticipation. Then it dawned on her.  
  
It was Christmas morning. Willow smiled to herself, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She couldn’t remember ever being excited about Christmas morning but here she was, sixteen years old and grinning like a Cheshire cat at the very thought of it. She looked over at her clock. It wasn’t exactly early, but it was still earlier than she would get up for a school day. It was, actually, the earliest time she’d woken up since she’d arrived in D.C., even the difference in time zones, with D.C. being ahead of Sunnydale. Willow had put it down to being due to her being tired following a few slightly hairy Hellmouth issues that they’d encountered.   
  
Willow smiled, thinking of the stories that Buffy had used to tell her about how, when the Slayer had been younger, she would get up especially early on Christmas morning, leading to Hank and Joyce implementing a ‘No getting up before 6 am’ rule, resulting in Buffy lying in her bed, watching her clock tick closer and closer to the magic six o’clock moment. She couldn’t imagine even a six o’clock rise would be overly popular in the Booth household, given that Booth had gone to midnight mass. She’d still been up when he’d left, watching carols on the TV, but she hadn’t heard him return to the apartment.  
  
Suddenly worried that something horrible had happened to him, Willow slid out of bed slipping on her slippers and dressing gown to ward off the chill, before heading out of the room. She walked into the living room, stopping to stare at the Christmas tree. The beautifully decorated tree looked stunning in the early morning light Willow could see her ornament that Parker had given her hanging from a branch, clearly visible, but the tree wasn’t what had made Willow stop, but rather what was underneath it. The number of gifts lying beneath it had multiplied, with different wrapping papers featured than the couple of rolls Willow had brought during her shopping trip. The brightly colored packaging, featuring Santa's and reindeer and Christmas trees and penguins, snowmen and presents, just added to the beauty of the tree.  
  
Hanging from a shelf (since Booth didn’t have a mantelpiece) and held in place by their tabs with heavy books were three stockings that had not been there when Willow had gone to bed. They all matched, made from red velvet, with a white fluffy trim around the top, and green felt letters spelling out a name, identifying the stocking’s owner. Willow felt her eyes well up with tears as she saw the one with her name spelled out on it. She was so absorbed and taken in by the scene that she failed to notice Seeley emerging from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hand. He carefully put the hot beverage down on a table and put his warm, gentle hand on Willow’s shoulder.  
  
Willow jumped violently, turning around to face Booth. She smiled at him, relaxing when she knew that there was no danger. Booth gently put his arms around her in a hug.  
  
“Merry Christmas, Willow,” he said to her softly, kissing the top of her head.  
  
“Merry Christmas, Dad,” Willow replied.


	36. Chapter 36

Willow actually let her jaw drop as her father drove up the driveway that lead to Hodgins’ house. The large automatic gate and the tall brick fence in the very upper-class-looking suburb indicated to her that obviously it was going to be impressive but nothing had prepared her for the sheer size and look of Hodgins’ property. And then, as they cleared some trees, there was the house with its attached massive garage. It didn’t seem to fit Hodgins at all but there was Hodgins, Angela, Zach and Sweets all standing on the front steps, waving.

 

“Not what you expected?” Booth asked a wide grin on his face. Willow was speechless and simply shook her head in reply. Booth laughed.

 

“I thought the same thing the first time I came here. Hodgins comes from a wealthy family. He has people that work for him that organize the business so he doesn’t need to and he hates being associated with them. His family actually are massive sponsors of the Jeffersonian but Hodgins hates talking about it. He earned his position at the lab and he works hard because he loves it. At least, I’m pretty sure he does,” Booth told her. Willow smiled and nodded before she climbed out of the SUV, carrying the bag of presents that she had brought for her father’s Jeffersonian friends. They would all be there today except for Dr. Saroyen, who had already left D.C. to visit her family, but she would be back in a few days and Willow would give Cam her present then. Booth got out too and grabbed the dish that was carrying his contribution to the meal from the back of the car before they both walked over to the house.

 

“Hi, guys. Merry Christmas.” Angela beamed, taking the dish from Booth and carrying it inside, leading the whole group inside.

 

“Merry Christmas,” Willow replied, putting her handbag down beside Angela’s. Booth took his coat off and put it with the bags.

 

The inside of Hodgins’ home was just as grand as the outside but it still felt warm and lived-in. Hodgins returned from the kitchen, having dropped the dish off, and led the group from the large entry into a smaller living room. A Christmas tree was set up at one end of the room and Zach led Willow over to it so they could scatter Willow’s presents (plus the ones that Booth had brought already for his colleagues) underneath it.

 

“The tree looks very pretty,” Willow commented as they worked. Zach blushed slightly.

 

“Hodgins and I went and picked it out last weekend and I had to decorate it. Considering that both he and I are usually away during Christmas time, Hodgins does not have many Christmas decorations and I do not have any, but I tried to make it as symmetrical as possible. I’m glad you find it visually pleasing.”

 

“It looks great,” Willow reassured him. “I’m very impressed and I love the wall decorations too,” Willow said, admiring the string that had been looped along the wall with test tubes hanging from it filled with alternating green and red glowing liquid. It added a scientific quirk to the room, which Willow found highly appropriate, since most people there had a doctorate in some form of science.

 

“Hodgins did those. He has his own small laboratory in the basement,” Zach said, looking at the test tubes happily. “Dr. Brennan tells me that you do not normally celebrate Christmas,” he said softly as Willow laid the presents out. Willow smiled and shook her head.

 

“Not normally. I’m actually Jewish and my parents usually are away this time of year anyway. My friends and I used to sort of merge Hanukkah and Christmas into one thing and I used to sneak over to my best friend’s house and we’d watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special together. That would be the extent of it.”

 

“This year must be very different for you then,” Zach reasoned.

 

Willow nodded. “Yeah, it is. I’ve loved it. For the first time in my life, I’m actually excited about it being Christmas.”  

 

“What are you two chatting about?” Booth asked as he approached them.

 

“We were just talking about the tree and Christmas generally,” Willow replied. Zach nodded in agreement to back her up. Booth’s eyes narrowed slightly but he brushed it off and walked away, satisfied that Willow was happy where she was. He had to admit it he found it odd that Willow and Zach got along so well but then, maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised. Either way, he was glad. Zach was the closest of the squints in age to Willow and the shy squint needed a few friends, if Hodgins was to be believed. Booth didn’t mind, since it was good for Willow to have someone who was a friend to talk to while she was staying in D.C.

 

“What?” Jack smiled at Booth, seeing the conflicted look on Booth’s face.

 

“Nothing, just seeing what they’re up to.”

 

“Dude, you’re so overprotective already. It’s just Zach, chill.” Hodgins grinned, shaking his head in amusement.

 

“I think it’s sweet,” Angela said softly, watching the pair. “Zach’s been acting weird ever since he got back from Iraq and ever since he spent that day with Willow, he’s been normal… or at least, as normal as Zach gets.”

 

Sweets privately agreed with Angela. Although he did not know Zach overly well, he had observed from what the others had said that the youngest squint had been different since his stint in Iraq. Booth had told him about Zach’s habit of sleeping in odd places and Sweets personally thought that Zach was struggling with what he witnessed in the war zone and that he was going through Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, although he had talked to Zach and Zach had never mentioned a incident which might have led to him developing PTSD. Sweets had thought that Zach would be highly skilled at compartmentalizing what he had seen and he would have thought that Zach would have been able to cope. Obviously he had been wrong. The problem was that Sweets had to wait for Zach to approach him. Booth and Brennan were the ones that the FBI were worried about and were forced to attend sessions. Zach would have to make his own approach and that, Sweets knew from his college classes, was going to be the hardest step for the young squint. At least, Sweets reasoned as he watched Zach and Willow chatter, Zach had found someone who was happy to talk to him and would be willing to help Zach recover.   

“Come on, guys, lunch is served,” Hodgins called, having gone and checked on the food while Sweets was submerged in his thoughts. Zach and Willow got up and hurried over to the rest of the group and together they all walked to the kitchen.

 

A wide variety of foods was laid out on the bench and they all piled their plates high with food before carrying them to a dining room, where a table was set. Willow sat in between Booth and Angela. Dr. Brennan was on Booth’s other side while Hodgins was on the other side of Angela at the head of the table. Zach was sitting on the other side of Hodgins, leaving Sweets opposite Willow.

 

Willow loaded up her plate, pausing to say a soft prayer under her breath. Booth did the same but none of the others did anything of the sort, nor did they comment on the actions of Willow or her dad, so Willow shrugged and joined in the toast, clinking her glass (filled with lemonade) with the glasses of the team. She smiled and accepted the end of a Christmas cracker that Booth had offered her, pulling on it, and laughing as Booth put on the paper hat that had been contained within.

 

Looking around the table, Willow smiled as she saw how happy the team were… how, despite the fact they weren’t related, they had come together and celebrated as if they were a real family. It was at that moment that Willow realized that now she was a member of the family. She belonged here with them, just like she belonged in Sunnydale with Xander and Buffy.

 

Laughing at the corny joke Booth read out, Willow beamed and let herself relax. So this is what belonging to a family felt like, she found herself thinking as she began to eat.


	37. Chapter 37

Willow closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the headrest of her seat on the airplane that carried her back to L.A. She reflected on her journey and on the memories she had created... visiting the lab, going to the park with Parker, the snowball fight that she, Parker, Booth, Zach and Sweets had all participated in on New Year’s Day, the smiles that broke out on the faces of Booth, Parker, and the Jeffersonian team as they opened up her gifts for them, the grins of anticipation on their faces as Willow opened up the small gifts the team had gotten her. Willow had been surprised when Angela, Zach, Hodgins, Sweets, Bones and Cam had all given her a gift.   
  
Willow lifted her hand, feeling the warmth of the green scarf that Hodgins had given her (having confessed that Angela had picked it out for him) along with a sketch Angela had drawn of Willow, Booth and Parker together. Willow was already planning on framing the picture and hanging it up in her bedroom in Sunnydale. Her gaze dropped to her carry-on bag, stowed safely under the seat in front of her, which contained her gift from Dr. Brennan, two of the forensic anthropologist’s books, which she had signed before giving them to Willow.  
  
Cam’s gift to Willow had been more personal, however. A small photo album containing photos of Willow’s mother, both alone and with others. Hodgins had laughed at a few of the images that had Booth in them but the other squints all thought it was a touching gift. Willow knew that she would treasure it forever, images of the mother who had been forced from her comfortable life because she had fallen pregnant with Willow and had later died alone, sick and malnourished from her inability to support herself financially.  
  
Zach too had chosen something deep and meaningful to give to Willow. The little carved wooden animal he had shyly presented to her was tucked in her suitcase, along with the note on which Zach explained that in some cultures, the wooden carvings was presented as a token of friendship. It was a very sweet gesture and, as Angela commented, so very Zach-like.  
  
Now, though, she was leaving the Jeffersonian behind and returning to California. Willow had called Buffy, Xander and Giles the previous day and had been relieved to discover that things had been relatively quiet on the hellmouth over the Christmas break. Still, Willow knew that it would most likely be the calm before the storm and that the next supernatural menace to threaten the world’s continuing existence was never far away.  
  
Shifting restlessly in her seat, Willow retrieved her book and opened it up to where she was up to, immersing herself in the story that Dr. Brennan had weaved using clever plot points and the knowledge she collected through the cases she solved. One day Zach had told her about Angela’s belief that Brennan based her characters on her teammates. Now that she knew the members of the team more, Willow agreed with the artist completely and wondered if, in a future book, there would be a character based on her. She felt her face go red at the prospect. The idea of thousands of people reading about her, or a character based on her, made her mouth feel dry. Still, it would be something to talk about back in Sunnydale. Willow was certain that Cordelia hadn’t been the inspiration behind a character of a novel written by a widely known and read author.  
  
BtVS/BONES  
  
Zach hesitated before he tentatively knocked on the door to Booth’s office. He knew what he was about to do would probably lead to him being fired from the Jeffersonian and could get him imprisoned, or even killed if the master... Gormagon learned of it before he was captured. Despite all of this, Zach knew he had to do it. It was his duty, to his country and to his friends and family.   
  
Initially, what Gormagon had told Zach had made sense and had appealed to Zach’s logical nature but then Zach had met Willow, at some point during their discussions while they toured the Jeffersonian had Zach realized the truth... that Gormagon was grooming him to become a murderer and Zach had been, in a way, rationalizing murder.   
  
Zach didn’t know what would have happened had he been unable to talk about things with Willow. Ever since his return from Iraq, he had been so confused and emotionally worn out that he hadn’t been able to think logically and it had almost proven to be his downfall. Zach knew that he’d been foolish. He had needed to talk to someone about his experiences in Iraq. Although his trip had not been long, Zach felt that the tour of duty had left a stain on his psyche, one that no matter how hard Zach tried to repress the memories woke him up every night with nightmares that had left him gasping for breath and covered in sweat. It hadn’t been like he could talk to Hodgins or Angela or Dr. Brennan or Dr. Saroyen about how he felt. Zach knew that Hodgins and Angela wouldn’t be able to understand how he felt and Dr. Saroyen would try and mother him but at the same time question his ability to work. Zach didn’t want that. His work was the only thing, other than Willow’s friendship, that was keeping him from dwelling on his memories from Iraq 24 hours a day. Sweets was a possibility but Zach was unsure of the psychologist and he knew that Dr. Brennan would not approve. She hated psychology, labeling it a soft science. As for Dr. Brennan herself, both she and Special Agent Booth had spent far more time in conflict zones than Zach and the youngest squint knew that they would think less of him if he told them he wasn’t coping and couldn’t compartmentalize. Zach longed for the approval of both his mentor, Dr. Brennan, and Special Agent Booth and he had always felt that by telling them his struggles would make them think less of him than they already did.  
  
Now, with the Gormagon situation, Zach knew that he needed to do something, so he’d tried to do what he thought Special Agent Booth or Dr. Brennan would do. He had fitted a video camera to his shirt and gone to meet with Gormagon. Zach knew that Gormagon had suspected something was amiss, the murderer had been more aggressive than he had ever been in the past towards Zach, going as far to say that if Zach didn’t help him, then someone who Gormagon would have killed had Zach been helping him would kill someone that Zach cared about. It had been a threat and Zach knew it. Gormagon had warned him, “Do as I say, or I will kill someone you care about.” The threat had been punctuated by a beating that meant that Zach was, in fact, currently nursing bruised ribs from where Gormagon had kicked him. Still, Zach hadn’t complained and he hadn’t said anything to anyone at the Jeffersonian. A case had come up and Dr. Brennan had thrown herself into it with her usual determination and Zach had known that he could not say anything.  
  
Now though the case had been wrapped and Zach took a steadying breath, wincing as his ribs throbbed in protest.  
  
“Yeah?” Booth called and Zach cautiously cracked the door open.  
  
“Zach, what’s up?” Booth asked.  
  
“I... I need to talk to you about something,” Zach said nervously, clutching the video tape he had recorded in his hands. Booth groaned.  
  
“Zach, if you’re going to ask me for sex advice, the answer is no.”  
  
“No... It’s not about that,” Zach said hesitantly. Booth frowned and beckoned the young scientist into his office. Something was bothering Zach... the kid was obviously terrified and, if Booth was reading the squint’s body language right, injured as well.  
  
“Come on in, take a seat, Zach. Are you okay?”  
  
“Not, really, Special Agent Booth, my ribs are quite painful at the moment.”  
  
“What happened?” Booth asked.   
  
“Er, I was beaten,” Zach said truthfully, wincing at the look of anger that crossed Booth’s face.  
  
“What! By who, Zach? When did it happen?”

  
“Earlier this week. As for who it was... well, I should start at the beginning.”  
  
Booth got up and walked around his desk, leaning against the front of it as Zach sidled nervously further into the office, sinking slowly into a chair in front of Booth. For a moment, Zach understood what it must have felt like to be summoned to the principal’s office at school.  
  
“Tell me, Zach. I promise I will help, if I can,” Booth said sincerely, knowing that it must be something important. If someone was hurting, Zach then Booth was going to be pissed. No one hurt his squints and got away with it... especially Zach. The others all viewed him as a little brother and, although Booth would never admit to it, he had begun to as well. At least Zach wasn’t quite so prone to getting into trouble as Jared had been.  
  
“Last October, I was going for a walk when I was intercepted by a man. He said he recognized me from a photograph of the team in the paper. We talked about my work and he seemed to be quite interested. We arranged to meet for lunch a few days later and he again seemed to be quite interested in my work. He began to talk about his work and its importance and how it was vital for the betterment of society. I found myself agreeing with the logic behind his thought process. It sounded like it made a lot of sense. He asked me if I would like to help him in his work and I said yes, however he has never asked me to do anything. He says that I’m not ready yet but I will be when the time comes. It was when I was talking to Willow that I realized how faulty my logic had been, how I had been deceived, and how I had in turn betrayed you all. What he told me had sounded so logical, but then I realized how misguided my judgment had been, how my logic had been flawed. I know and understand that I’ve done the wrong thing. I know that Dr. Brennan will be highly disappointed in me, as will my colleagues. Dr. Saroyen will in all likelihood have no choice but to fire me and should you feel that my activities have been enough to warrant my arrest, I shall not protest.”  
  
Booth simply stared at the squint. “Zach, I have no idea what you just said,” he told the younger man. Zach sighed sadly.  
  
“The man I met, the one who I said I would help... he is Gormagon. After I realized that my logic was flawed, I tried to reason what you or Dr. Brennan would do in this situation. Gormagon... he had arranged a meeting between us for a few days’ time, so I went. I used this video camera to record everything.” Zach put the piece of equipment in Booth’s hands.  
  
“Zach... you went undercover and met with Gormagon without backup. That is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done... you know how dangerous he is. It could have been you that he was eating next.”  
  
Zach shook his head. “I did not feel as if I was in danger at first but I do not believe I was skilled enough at being undercover to convince him that my loyalties had not shifted. He was rather aggressive and became violent, saying that if I did not help him then someone who I ought to have helped him deal with would go on to kill someone I cared about.”  
  
“And he was the one who beat you?” Booth asked, putting the camera to one side carefully. Zach nodded, his gaze downcast. Booth got to his feet.  
  
“Get up, Zach,” he told the younger man. Zach nodded, rising to his feet slowly, his eyes remaining fixed on the carpet of Booth’s office. He automatically moved his hands behind his back so Booth could cuff them. Shaking his head at Zach’s actions, Booth instead enveloped the younger man in a gentle hug, being careful with Zach’s ribs. Booth had known instinctively that Zach needed reassurance and as the alpha male of the team, Booth knew that he was the one that needed to do it in order to ensure that Zach knew that everything was going to be alright.  
  
“You’ve done the right thing, Zach. Dr. Brennan would be proud of that, I know I am. I know it hasn’t been easy for you these last six months and I know we’ve all been too caught up in things to really make sure that you were okay after Iraq, but that’ll change now. You did good, kid.”  
  
Booth drew back and, remembering Brennan’s words, patted Zach on the shoulder with an open hand. He knew that Bones would be proud of her former student at that moment, because he knew that he definitely was. Sure, Zach had made a mistake, but from what Zach had said the squint had not done anything illegal and he had made up for any wrongdoing on his part by risking his life to get enough evidence to seal up the case. Booth decided that he was going to get the kid a drink once this was all over..  
  
For the moment, though, he had a cannibalistic serial killer to catch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a time jump in between Willow going home in the first part and Zach going to Booth. I haven’t planned how much of a jump at the moment but at this point of the story we can definitely say that Angelus is now on the loose.
> 
> An interesting note regarding the first section... In the Kathy Reichs books Bones is based on the “Booth” character finding out he has a teenage daughter he didn’t know about... only in the books she is a drug addict and is in and out of rehab. Just an interesting fact I realized while I was writing this chapter and thought I would share with you. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has been reading. For those of you who were wondering how the Zach and Gormagon plot line (which is personally my least favourite bones plot lines ever) would be overcome, i hope you liked it. I think it kind of draws parallels between the thing with Willow and Xander at the end of season six, don't you think?


	38. Chapter 38

Xander shifted uncomfortably in the hard hospital chair, looking at the motionless form of his best friend, forcing himself to mentally block the pain shooting up his arm. Willow needed him now and it was his job, as her best friend, to stay beside her and ignore his own discomfort.

 

Beside him sat Cordelia and Oz. Oz was his usual silent self, although Xander could see the anger dancing in the werewolf’s eyes as he looked at Willow’s unconscious form. Cordelia too was silent, although silence was not a natural thing for the cheerleader. Xander knew that Cordelia was shocked about what had happened. Drusilla’s attack on the library had been unsuspected, although in hindsight Xander knew they should have known. Druisilla was known for being psychic and naturally would have taken offense at an attempt to resoul Angelus. Still the death of Kendra and Willow’s coma had shocked them all, especially in the wake of Giles’ kidnapping and Jenny’s death.

 

It had been a hard four months for all of the Scoobies, with Angel losing his soul and becoming a blood-sucking psychopath. Xander had said numerous times that they should have seen the day when Angel turned on them coming and killed him when they had the chance but the hurt looks sent at him each time from Buffy had made Xander stop commenting on it. Of course he still thought about it, imagining the day when Buffy finally staked Angelus with glee, but he no longer mentioned that.

 

Undoubtedly the last few months had been hardest on Buffy, since she was the one who had loved Angel the most and who had unintentionally released the vampire of his soul when they’d slept together on her birthday. Giles too had been forced to face his demons since Jenny’s death at Angelus’ hand.   It had been only Xander, however, who had wondered what the implications of Angel being evil would have on Willow. As far as he was concerned, Willow had to be distantly related to Angel. There was no way Special Agent Booth and Angel could look so alike without there being some sort of blood connection.  Xander had seen the pain in Willow’s eyes as she thought about how the vampire that looked near identical to her father had killed her mentor and was terrorizing her friends.

 

A double blow for Willow had been receiving the news, a few weeks ago, that one of her father’s colleagues, who Willow had struck up a friendship with, had been stabbed. Apparently Willow’s new friend, Zach, had been struggling with things and had been approached by a person who had appeared to be able to help. It was only a few months later that Zach had realized that the person who had been helping him was actually the cannibalistic serial killer that Special Agent Booth and the team had been after almost all year. Zach had gone to Special Agent Booth and they had set up an operation. Zach went into the killer’s lair first, followed by the FBI squad. All had been going well until the killer realized that Zach had betrayed him. The killer, whose name Xander had forgotten, had grabbed Zach and plunged a knife into him. Zach had survived but it had been a near thing and Willow had been quite upset by the news.

 

Xander frowned as he thought of Special Agent Booth. The hospital had contacted Ira and Sheila Rosenberg about Willow’s coma and they had told the hospital staff that when they finished the conference they were currently attending, they would return to Sunnydale. It would be a couple of days until then, however, and Xander wondered if Special Agent Booth had been called.

 

“Did any of you guys call Willow’s dad?” he asked softly.

 

“No.” Oz shook his head.

 

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. How creepy, having Mr. FBI agent who looks freakishly like Angel walking around her after everything that’s happened,” Cordelia added.

 

“We should, though,” Oz put in. “I mean, he’d want to know... and it’s not like we know how long Willow is going to be unconscious for.”

 

Cordelia nodded in agreement and Xander groaned. He wished Giles was there to tell him what he should do... or Buffy. As it was, though, it was down to him, Oz and Cordelia.

 

This was one phone call Xander did not want to make.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Special Agent Booth frowned as his cell phone went off in his pocket. He was at the lab, having just wrapped a case. He was waiting for Brennan to finish up before they and the rest of the team headed to the diner for lunch, since it was the weekend. Brennan approached him as he fished around in his pocket for the beeping device.

 

“Hang on a sec, Bones,” he told her. “I hope this isn’t another case.” Brennan nodded in agreement as the rest of the team joined them, carrying their jackets and bags.

 

“Booth,” Booth said as he answered his phone. Bones frowned at the way Booth’s face lost all color within moments of answering the call.

 

“How... how is she?” Booth asked, his voice carrying a shocked tone. There was a lengthy pause as the person on the other end of the line, whoever it was, spoke.

 

“Where are her parents?” Booth asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Brennan knew from his body language that Booth wanted to get moving. She exchanged a look with Angela, Hodgins, Zach, Cam and Sweets. The rest of the team looked equally concerned. The news Booth was receiving was obviously not good. Booth nodded, although whoever he was talking to could not see him.

 

“Damn. Okay Xander, I’m on way. Thanks for telling me... Look after her for me until I get there. I’ll see you soon.” Booth hung up and turned towards the squints, his brown eyes filled with pain and his face paler than Brennan had ever seen it.

 

“Booth, what’s wrong?” she asked. Booth took a shaky breath.

 

“It’s Willow,” he said shortly. “The high school library was attacked by a gang of kids on PCP. Willow hid in the stacks and a bookcase got pushed over on top of her. She’s in a coma and another girl was murdered.”

 

“Oh, God,” Cam said.

 

“Dude, that sucks,” Hodgins agreed in a shocked tone of voice.

 

“I’m so sorry, Booth,” Angela added.

 

“What are you going to do?” Brennan asked, stepping closer to Booth. Booth focused on his partner.

 

“I’m going to Sunnydale. I can’t leave her alone there. The Rosenbergs aren’t going to get there for another couple of days. She needs me in Sunnydale with her. Her friend sounded so freaked out.”

 

Brennan nodded approvingly. “I know, Booth, you should go.” she said softly before approaching him and giving Booth a comforting hug.

 

“Keep us up to date on how she is, okay, Booth?” Angela requested. Booth nodded and gathered his things, preparing to leave.

 

Zach nodded in support of Angela’s request, his cheeks loosing the little color they had regained since his stabbing as he unconsciously touched the place in his side where Gormagon’s knife had penetrated his skin. Special Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan had saved his life that day, maintaining pressure on the wound and trying to limit the amount of blood lost. Zach had only been back at work for two days and now Willow was in a coma after being attacked by a gang of drugged up kids.

 

It was a brutal and painful reminder of how fragile human life was, not that Bones and her team needed to be reminded of the fragility of the human life. They dealt with death on a daily basis after all.

 

“I so don’t want to know what happens next,” Angela said as Booth hurried off, his phone pressed to his ear as he arranged leave and flights to L.A.    

 

“What do you mean?’ Hodgins asked as Bones, Cam and Zach redirected their attention to the artist.

 

“Well,” Angela explained, “you know what they say about bad things always happening in threes. First Zach is stabbed and almost killed by Gormagon, and then Willow is attacked and put in a coma, and one of her friends dies... I don’t want to know what the next thing will be. I don’t think we’ll be so lucky if something else happens.”

 

Cam privately agreed, although Brennan automatically dismissed Angela’s fears as being superstitious speculation. The incident with Zach and Gormagon had been a near thing with the young squint almost bleeding out in the cold basement that was Gormagon’s lair. Had Booth and Brennan not been there, quick-thinking as always, Zach would almost definitely not still be with them. Now Willow was in a coma, having been attacked by a drug gang in the safety of the high school library. From what Booth had told her about Willow, Cam knew that, just like her mother, Willow was the type of person who views the high school library as a sort of refuge, a home away from home so to speak. It sent shudders down Cam’s spine when she thought about the safety of Willow’s refuge being breached in such a fashion.

 

Brennan watched Booth’s retreating back as he left the lab, wishing that there was something she could do for him. Comas were serious, although it sounded like Willow had not been unconscious for long. The longer the coma lasted, Brennan knew, the more the likelihood of Willow recovering diminished. Although she knew that it would do little good, Brennan found herself hoping that Willow would recover swiftly and that Booth would not be faced with the prospect of losing his child. Even though Willow was a recent addition to Booth’s life, despite her age, Brennan knew that Booth cared deeply about his daughter and would be devastated if something happened to her. Going by that hypothesis, Brennan knew that Booth would already be devastated.

 

“Gosh, this sucks, doesn’t it?” Angela commented, crossing her arms and leaning against Hodgins as they all stared at the door that Booth had exited through.

 

“Tell me about it,” Zach agreed.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

“I hope Buffy doesn’t stake first and ask questions later when she finally shows up,” Cordelia commented as she walked into Willow’s hospital room where Xander sat at Willow’s side, holding his best friend’s hand as Willow slept. She had woken up from the coma a couple of hours after Xander had called Booth and she had attempted the soul restoration spell once again. This time, however, it seemed that she had been successful. Xander had not been there at that point of time, instead going to find Giles, but Cordelia had explained to him the impressive light show Willow had produced. Xander was reasonably sure that, since the world hadn’t been swallowed into Acathla’s hell, either Willow had been successful or Buffy had staked Angelus. Xander privately hoped for the latter but he wasn’t going to say that in front of any of the others. He knew that he should feel guilty after not passing Willow’s message on to Buffy but, in the long run, Xander knew that the world would be a much safer place without Angelus in it, souled or otherwise, and that he was doing everyone a favor.

 

If only Buffy would just show up so that the rest of the group would know she was safe, Xander would appreciate it.

 

“What do you mean?” Oz asked and Xander blinked, having been so absorbed in his thoughts that he’d forgotten what Cordelia had said.

 

“Willow’s dad... you know. I mean, Mr Guy who looks like Angel. I hope Buffy doesn’t come in and see him and think he is Angel. It would be kind of weird if Buffy accidently staked Willow’s dad, thinking it was Angel, don’t you think?”

 

Xander flinched. He hadn’t thought of that. After Willow had first woken up, Xander had tried to call Booth to tell him that Willow was conscious and according to her doctor, out of immediate danger but his calls had gone straight to voicemail. Xander had figured that Booth probably had his phone turned off because he was on a plane or something. Still, Cordelia raised a good point. Care would have to be taken to ensure that, should Buffy arrive back at Willow’s hospital room after Booth, that it was obvious that the man was not Angel. Oz was obviously thinking along the same lines, because he got up from where he was sitting and opened up the curtains, letting sunlight stream into the room.

 

“Good idea,” Xander commented as Oz sat back down. The werewolf nodded but otherwise said nothing. The group fell into a thoughtful silence, which was disrupted when the door burst open and Booth burst in. Despite the fact that he was bathed in sunlight from the open window, Xander and Cordelia both startled nervously.

 

“Oh my God,” Booth said, his eyes falling on Willow’s motionless form on the bed. Xander was grateful that they’d had the sense to pack up the leftover ingredients of the soul restoration spell; otherwise, things would have been worse than what they already were.

 

“She woke up about two hours ago. I tried to call you but you must have been flying or something,” Xander told Booth softly. Booth turned and faced the teenager, taking in the cast Xander had on his wrist.

 

“Thank you for calling me, Xander. I appreciate it. I know I don’t have any legal rights in regard to Willow but I’m glad you thought of me when she was hurt.”

 

Xander shrugged. “Ira and Sheila aren’t going to come back to Sunnydale for another couple of days. I thought Willow would like to have an adult that she knew around before then. Nothing against Mrs. Summers or Giles, but they’re both... kind of busy at the moment.”

 

“Oh,” Booth said, a surprised look crossing his face. Xander blanched when he realized his mistake.

 

“Um, not like that. That’s kind of gross. What I meant was that Giles will be mourning Jenny and Mrs. Summers will be busy worrying about Buffy, since she’s kind of missing at the moment.”

 

“Oh right, that makes more sense.” Booth smiled weakly before he turned his attention to Willow, who had begun to stir. Seeing as there were no vacant seats in the room, Booth crouched down so his eyes were level with Willow’s. Reaching up with his hand, Booth began to tenderly stroke Willow’s head, avoiding the bandage that encircled it.

 

“Hey, Willow. It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.”

 

“Dad,” Willow whispered, cracking her eyes open and taking in the deep brown eyes of her father. Xander flinched as Willow awoke to find her father so close, fearing that she would think it was Angelus and react badly. As it was, though ,Willow smiled weakly at the sight of Booth.

 

“Hey there, Willow. How do you feel?” Booth asked softly.

 

“Sore, my head feels all fuzzy, and I’m really tired,” Willow whispered in a tired voice. Booth nodded.

 

“You just go back to sleep then. I’ll be here when you wake up and so will your friends.”

 

“Where’s Buffy?” Willow asked, this time looking at Xander.

 

Xander shook his head. “Nobody knows, she hasn’t been seen yet. She will, though, and she’ll come and see you as soon as she can.”

 

“I know,” Willow whispered before she fell back asleep, surrounded by her friends and family.

 

Well, most of them anyway.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Temperance Brennan hurriedly answered her phone. Booth would almost certainly be in L.A. by now and would have been told of Willow’s condition, even if it wasn’t by a doctor, given that Booth was not the teen’s legal guardian. Brennan found that she was anxious for news about Willow. Although Brennan had met Willow only briefly over Christmas, she was fond of the teenager and thought that Booth was lucky to have a daughter like Willow.

 

“Brennan,” Bones answered her phone in her usual, formal way.

 

“Hey, Bones,” Booth greeted from the other end of the call.

 

“Booth, how is Willow? What have you been told?” Brennan asked quickly.

 

‘The doctors won’t tell me much but she’s awake. She woke up first when I was still flying to L.A. She’s still pretty out of it and she’s on some pretty strong painkillers but other than that, she’s okay. She has a gash on her forehead from the bookshelf when it fell and her best friend has a broken wrist. She said to tell you she said hi.”

 

“Tell her I say hello back,” Brennan smiled. The rest of the team would be pleased. It had been obvious that they had all been deeply concerned about Willow, especially Zach. They would all be relieved to know that she was going to be alright

 

“Alright, Bones. I’ll call you later. I just wanted to let you know that she was alright. All the doctors will tell me is that they think she’ll make a good recovery but I want to head back to her room now.”

 

“Goodbye, Booth.” Brennan hung up and sat down on her comfortable house, getting ready to spread the good news to the rest of her team. Willow was okay and at the moment, it appeared that she would escape without any lasting repercussions following the incident. Brennan was glad as she called Angela, hoping her best friend was still awake. She wanted to be the one to spread the good news about Willow.

 

Booth’s teenage daughter would be fine and that was all that mattered at the moment.


	39. Chapter 39

Willow leaned wearily against Booth as he sat on the edge of her bed, revelling in how great it felt to have him close, to finally have a parental figure that cared enough about her to fly across the entire country just to be by her bedside when she was injured. It was something of a novelty for her after being neglected by Ira and Sheila Rosenberg for so long, being considered to be far less important than the couple’s respective careers.

 

Oz and Cordelia had gone home, both of them feeling tired after the traumatic last couple of days but Xander had stayed, not willing to leave Willow’s side despite Booth’s assurance that he would not leave Willow’s side.

 

It wasn’t just for Willow that Xander was concerned, but for Booth as well. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before Giles got himself sorted out and came to see Willow, if only to quiz her about the spell she had used to resoul Angelus. Xander was certain that Giles would react, quite possibly violently, if he saw Booth without being warned beforehand that the FBI agent was there. Night had fallen, so it was not like the sunlight coming through the window and bathing Booth in a golden glow (with no ashes in sight) was going to be an indication that it was Willow’s dad, rather than the vampire, in the room. It would undoubtedly raise many awkward questions if Giles attacked Booth with a stake the moment he laid eyes on the agent. Now if only the Watcher would just show up, Xander could let himself relax.  

 

In fact, Xander was surprised, and slightly annoyed by the way that the English Watcher had not come by visit Willow. Xander understood that Giles was devastated by Jenny’s murder and the Englishman had been soundly beaten and tortured by Angelus and Drusilla, but Xander thought that Giles would have wanted to check on the remaining Scoobies, especially given Buffy’s absence. In truth, Xander viewed Giles as a sort of father figure, and he knew that Willow did as well, and the Watcher’s prolonged absence from Willow’s hospital room was beginning to feel a little like rejection and neglect, as if now that Buffy was missing Giles didn’t care about the other two members of the original Scooby gang.

 

Xander jumped when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, indicating that he had a text message. Willow glanced over at him at the sound, holding her breath in anticipation. Had Buffy been found? Was it Buffy herself that was responding to one of the many messages she and Xander had sent her since Willow had done the spell? Xander felt his shoulders sink as he read the message. There was no word of Buffy but Giles was on his way to the hospital and wanted to know which room Willow was in. Xander quickly sent back a reply telling Giles that Willow was on the first floor but Xander would meet him at the admissions desk.

 

“Not Buffy?” Willow asked, reading the disappointment on Xander’s face. Xander nodded.

 

“Not Buffy,” he confirmed, “but Giles is on his way. He wanted to know which room you’re in,” Xander told her. Willow looked surprised.

 

“I’m kind of impressed. I didn’t think Giles would be able to send a text message. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had to show him how to use the check out software on the library computer. It’s a good thing not many people take out books.” She commented. Xander and Booth both snorted at the comment as Xander got to his feet.

 

“I’ll just go and meet him at the reception desk. Do you two want anything?”

 

“No, thanks, Xander.” Willow smiled, knowing what Xander was doing and feeling very grateful that her best friend had stayed behind.

 

Booth shook his head. “No, thanks, I’m fine,” he told Xander, who nodded before heading out of the room. Once he was out of eyesight of the room, he leaned against the clean hospital wall and exhaled. It was going to be an interesting evening. Giles might know that the man sitting with Willow was just her father but Xander knew that for a while, his mind would play tricks with him and he would forget about Booth and think it was Angel. Xander himself had done it consistently for the first half an hour of Booth being there. After that, however, Xander had adjusted and been able to settle down. It would undoubtedly be harder for Giles, given everything that had happened.

 

Making his way to the elevator, Xander rode down the two stories to the ground floor, where the reception area was. He stood in an unobstructed corner of the room, watching the door and waiting for Giles to arrive. Although it still hurt Xander that Giles had been gone, he was relieved that the Watcher had returned.

 

Xander knew that Booth had noticed the absence of an adult in the room when he’d first arrived and a new fear began to stir in his gut. Willow had told him, following her Christmas holiday to D.C. that the only reason Booth had not asked her to come and move in with him was because she had supportive friends and there were obviously adults in her life that cared about her and would keep an eye on Willow’s well-being. Now, with Willow seriously injured, Booth had arrived to find no responsible adults there looking out for her. Would Booth change his mind and force Willow to leave Sunnydale?

 

The very thought left a cold feeling of dread in the pit of Xander’s stomach.  

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Xander was very relieved when Giles walked through the hospital doors. The injuries the older man had suffered at the hands of Angelus had begun to heal, although the Watcher still looked very pale. Xander suspected that the Watcher’s coloring was more due to the fact that Buffy was still unaccounted for, rather than his run-in with Drusilla and Angelus.

 

“Giles,” Xander greeted, repressing the urge to shorten Gile’s name or give the Watcher a nickname. It had been a long couple of months and Xander had a feeling that Giles was feeling the strain.

 

“Xander...how is Willow?”

 

“Much better. The doctors are talking about releasing her by the end of the week.”

 

“So soon?” Giles asked.

 

Xander shrugged. “She’s been okay ever since, you know... the spell. She’s been sleeping a lot but they said that sleeping a lot was a normal part of the recovery. They did some testing, you know, checking her memory and all that, but she came out all clear. They’re taking her for another set of scans in the morning, but at the moment everything looks good.”

 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Giles began to walk towards the elevator but he stopped and turned when he realized Xander wasn’t following him.

 

“Xander, is something wrong?”

 

“Why didn’t you come sooner? I mean, Willow probably just saved the world from being sucked into a hell dimension. She almost died, Giles, and you weren’t there. Willow needed you... I needed you. Oz and Cordy needed you and you weren’t there.”

 

“I was searching for Buffy.”

 

“I hate to point this out to you, Giles, but if Buffy doesn’t want to be found, you aren’t going to be able to find her. Besides, we know she left the mansion of her own accord. If she wants to be found, she’ll find us. As much as I hate to say it, she just had to effectively kill the... thing... she was in love with, even though he was a murderous psychopathic monster who deserves everything hell can throw at him. I think Buffy kind of deserves some private ‘me’ time.”

 

Giles let out a sigh, knowing that Xander was right. In focusing on Buffy, he’d neglected the rest of the group. It was a massive oversight on his part, especially given the fact that Willow had only days before been seriously injured. He owed them all an apology. Despite how Giles felt about Angelus, not to mention Jenny’s death, he knew that he had not done the right thing. In allowing Xander, Willow, Oz and Cordelia to be involved in helping Buffy, Giles had initially sworn that he would serve as a Watcher for each of the teens and not just Buffy, but he had failed in that now and Giles resolved on the spot that he would not be so negligent towards his charges ever again.

 

“I’m sorry, Xander,” Giles apologized sincerely. Xander nodded before a slightly sheepish look came onto his face.

 

“There’s something else I have to tell you before we go and see Willow,” he told Giles, who frowned at how the usually confident Xander was acting.

 

“What is it?” Giles asked.

 

“Well, the hospital called Willow’s parents and told them about what happened. Predictably they won’t come until their current seminar is finished, which isn’t for a few more days. We thought it would be nice if Willow’s real dad was told about what had happened.”

 

“Quite right, that was very thoughtful of you Xander,” Giles said, although a sinking feeling in his gut telling him where this conversation was going.

 

“He was more worried about her than we thought and he caught the next flight he could from D.C to L.A. and then rented a car and drove to Sunnydale. He’s been at her side ever since he got here earlier this afternoon.”

 

Giles cringed, Xander’s sheepishness suddenly explained. Giles didn’t have a problem with Special Agent Booth... he quite liked him in fact but the man did bear a rather startling resemblance to Angelus.

 

“Are you sure that...?”

 

“Yes, it’s definitely Willow’s dad. I mean, Booth is, what, about ten years older than Angelus was when he was turned, so they aren’t identical, although they are really similar. Besides, Oz had the idea of having the curtains wide open when he walked in. The moment he was in the room, he was in direct sunlight. He didn’t even smoke.”

“Well done, Xander. Remind me to commend Oz on his thinking.”  


“I will. I just thought I should give you a heads up, you know, so you can prepare yourself. It’s hard to tell the difference between them at first anyway.”

 

“Quite right,” Giles agreed and they headed for the elevator together.

 

“Besides, after everything that we’ve been through, I really don’t think any of us need to go through the ordeal of you getting convicted for murdering a Special Agent by plunging a stake into his heart,” Xander added and Giles felt the flicker of a smile, the first he had felt weeks, cross his face.

 

“Yes, I do think we have enough to deal with right now without that.”

 

BtVS/BONES

When Xander and Giles reached Willow’s room, Xander noticed that Booth had moved and was now sitting in a chair on the window side of Willow’s bed, leaving the space between Willow’s bed and the doorway clear. Willow was sitting up in the hospital bed and Xander saw her face brighten when she saw Giles. Giles let out a sigh of relief as he saw the teenager laying on the bed and crossed the threshold of the hospital room, hurrying to Willow’s side and embracing the teenager.

 

“Giles,” Willow simply said, the one word saying everything that needed to be said by the two.   
  
Giles nodded. “I know, Willow. I am sorry it took me so long so come here. You needed me and I wasn’t there and for that, I am deeply sorry.”

 

Willow shook her head, wincing a little at the movement and the pain it caused inside her battered skull.

 

“It’s okay. I’m okay, it’s over. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

 

Giles nodded before loosening his grip on Willow and looking at Booth, who nodded in greeting to Giles. Giles replied to the gesture with a nod of greeting of his own.

 

“I appreciate that you came such a long way just to be with Willow, Special Agent Booth. It means a lot to me that she has some family out there that care about her.”

 

“Willow told me about what happened to Jenny. I’m sorry. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

 

Giles nodded. “Thank you, Special Agent Booth, but I think there is little that can be done. I appreciate the offer, however.”

 

Booth smiled sadly and let the matter drop, unable to think about how traumatic it would be for Giles to think about his girlfriend’s murder.

 

“Will you be in town for long?” Giles asked, taking a seat on Willow’s other side, beside Xander. Booth shrugged.

 

“I’ll see what Ira and Sheila Rosenberg say when they get here. I might go home then, if they want me to go, or if they plan on leaving again soon, I might stay around for a week. I’ll need to head back after that. My team might get assigned a case and depending on how things go, I might have to go back and help with that. There aren’t many agents that are willing to work with them.”

 

Willow giggled at the comment. “So, how is Zach recovering?” she asked. “I was so worried about him.

 

Booth smiled. “He’ll be okay. Physically he’s almost back to normal. He’ll have a scar but otherwise, there wasn’t any permanent damage. He’s back working at the lab now, jumpier than he used to be but I think he’ll get over it, eventually. I spent some time with him at the hospital just after it happened and we talked about what he saw in Iraq. I should never have let him go but the damage is done now. He has good friends though, and good support now, so mentally I think he’ll be okay as well. He’s looking forward to you coming to visit this summer.”

 

“Is he?” Willow asked in surprise. “He actually told you that?”

 

Booth grinned. “Well, he was doped up on painkillers and was sleep-deprived at the time, but essentially yes.”

 

Xander opened his mouth to make a teasing comment about the blush that had spread across Willow’s pale cheeks but the glare she sent him made him snap his mouth shut.

 

Sometimes it was best to keep quiet. Willow might be injured but she sure wasn’t defenceless.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

It was nearing two o’clock in the morning when Buffy slipped into the hospital room, her bright blond hair concealed in her dark beanie. She looked around the room. Willow and Xander were both asleep on the hospital bed, Xander’s arm protectively slung out over the form of his best friend as he lay on top of the covers. On one side of the bed sat Giles, his head tilted back at an awkward angle, a little drool coming out of his mouth. Buffy cringed before she shook her head and smiled fondly at the man who, in the last eighteen months, had been more of a father for her than her own. She would miss him.

 

Looking beyond the bed, with Willow and Xander, Buffy saw Special Agent Booth. She felt her heart clench as she saw him sitting in the chair, snoring softly. She’d known from the moment she saw him in the room that it was Willow’s father and not Angel sitting there, even though she wished it was Angel sitting there.

 

Booth’s hand was resting on the bed, tucked around Willow’s hand that lay on the covers of the bed, as if the FBI agent had fallen asleep holding his daughter’s hand. It was sweet and Buffy filed the memory into her mind.

 

“Good luck,” she softly whispered as she turned her focus to Willow and Xander on the bed. “Please stay safe,” she told them before she left the room, knowing that she would not see them in a long time.

 

Sunnydale was too painful to remain in... it carried too many memories of Angel and the unpleasantness of the last few months. Buffy crept through the darkness to the bus station, getting a one-way ticket to L.A.

  
As the bus passed the slightly dinted ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ sign a short wait later (night busses had always been popular in Sunnydale... even demons needed public transport), Buffy knew that one day she would return.

 

But it would not be for a while.


	40. Chapter 40

Booth let out a sigh of relief as he stretched out on the couch of Willow’s parents’ house... stripy sock-clad feet propped up on an arm rest and a beer in one hand, the remote in the other as he prepared to watch some sports. It was late and he knew it was time to wind down and relax for a little bit. It had been a long week since he had rushed to Sunnydale, although to Booth it felt like the time he had spent with Willow had flown.

 

Ira and Sheila Rosenberg had passed through Sunnydale a few days before, checking on Willow and thanking Booth for taking the time to come and check on Willow, even though it wasn’t his job. Seeley had fought to control his emotions when Sheila had commented on how nice it was for his job to allow him the freedom to come across the country just to check up on the daughter he hadn’t even known he had until a few short months before. The words had been innocent enough but the tone of voice the woman used clearly indicated to all present that she thought that Booth’s job was not nearly as important as her own and that since he was there, she was content to let him look after Willow while she and Ira went on with their holiday, leaving again just hours after Willow was released from hospital.

 

Booth had seen the glares that Xander had sent towards the couple as they left, along with the ones that Oz and Cordelia had sent at the backs of Willow’s adopted parents. If looks could kill, the Rosenbergs would be six feet under by now, Booth was certain of it.

 

For the moment, it was just him and Willow at the house. The other teenagers had reluctantly gone back to school, although they always came over once the school day was over. Respecting the teenager’s right to privacy, Booth took the opportunity to go for a run and call Bones to see what she was up to and how the rest of the team were.

 

Once darkness fell, Xander, Cordelia and Oz headed home, leaving Booth and Willow alone. Booth would cook something light for Willow, whose appetite wasn’t very good at the moment, before making himself something to eat and they would eat dinner together.

 

Booth turned his head and looked at the wheelchair propped against the wall near the front door. Willow insisted on walking around the house on her own, although she was still a little wobbly and she had been forbidden from even attempting the stairs alone but the wheelchair would be needed on longer trips out of the house, such as when Willow went to and from school once she went back. The doctor had reported that Willow still needed time to rest, despite how quickly she had recovered, so she would still be missing at least another week of school despite her protests that she was fine.

 

The creaking of floorboards made Booth start and he turned around, relaxing when he saw Willow dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of light pants.

 

“Hey, do you need anything?” Booth asked, moving to get up. He glanced at his watch. It was late...Willow was usually asleep by now.

 

“How did you get down here?” he asked. Willow blinked and smiled sheepishly at him before she crept over, leaning lightly on the furniture and walls for support. Booth moved over so Willow could sit beside him. Seeing her rub her bare arms once, Booth picked up a blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch and wrapped it around Willow’s shoulders.

 

“Thanks,” she said softly, her pale face illuminated by the flickering lights of the television set. Booth shrugged.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Are you okay?”

 

Willow paused before she answered. “I couldn’t sleep,” she confessed. Booth nodded. He understood where she was coming from. While he was pretty sure Willow wouldn’t get PTSD from the incident (although it was still a lingering thought in the back of Booth’s mind), he’d expected nightmares to plague Willow’s sleep. The only reason they hadn’t been an issue before now was that Willow had been running on so much pain medication that she had been too drugged up to be troubled by nightmares. It seemed that Willow was the opposite to Zach in that regard, Booth reasoned, remembering how Zach had genuinely become terrified of sleeping while he was under the effect of the strong pain medication he’d been given while he was at hospital.

 

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to reassure her. Willow nodded her eyes distant as she gazed silently at the heavy curtains that hung in her parent’s living room. Beyond the curtains and the thin pane of glass they concealed, there was another world... a world that was dangerous and frightening. A world that Willow knew, in her heart, she would never escape from... not now that she had spent so long fighting it. While it was true that she had only known Buffy for barely eighteen months, to Willow it felt like a lifetime.

 

Booth frowned, concerned by Willow’s distant gaze. He gently rubbed her arm through the blanket.

 

“I’ve got you, Willow. It’s okay. I’ll look after you. They’re not going to hurt you anymore. The ones who hurt you are going to get caught. I know I don’t have jurisdiction but the local police... they’ll catch them and lock them away. It’ll be okay.”

 

Willow forced herself to listen to her father’s soft words of reassurance and tried to relax. Regardless of how nice it felt to have her father rubbing her arms in such a protective manner, she was still tense. She wasn’t used to such a display of affection from an adult... even Giles wasn’t very hands-on... which kind of made sense, since he was also a teacher and was very British and supposedly British people were not outwardly affectionate towards other people.

 

Booth, however, seemed to have no plans of stopping and as time passed, Willow found herself relaxing into Booth’s arms, savoring the warm feeling it sent through her entire body. It felt as though nothing could ever hurt her when she was with Booth... as if he would protect her from the world and although Willow knew it was foolish, she liked it. For the first time in her life, she realized, she was being looked after by someone who genuinely cared about her... someone who loved her in the way that all parents should love their children.

 

For his part, Booth could feel Willow slowly relaxing. The more she relaxed, soothed by his gentle rubbing of her arms through the blanket, the more she leaned against him until she was huddled against his chest, just like Parker used to do when he was younger and was still known to do from time to time. Booth let out a sad smile. While he was pleased about how close he and Willow were becoming and how much she obviously trusted him to look after her and protect her, it pained him that he hadn’t been there for her to trust when she’d been younger.

 

It was obvious to Booth that Willow couldn’t trust Ira and Sheila Rosenberg to give her emotional support and comfort in Willow’s times of need and Booth shuddered at the idea of Willow becoming like the countless young people he encountered who had been neglected by their parents, deprived of love and attention as they had grown up and who had eventually become criminals. He knew that it was the minority of people who had been neglected during childhood who turned to a life of crime but Booth knew, partially from Sweets’ ramblings, that there was a connection between the two.

 

Not for the first time since he had received the phone call from a frightened and tired sounding Xander, Booth wondered if he should had challenged Ira and Sheila for Willow’s custody the moment he found out about her. It would have prevented her from being hurt by the gang when they attacked the school library and it would have shielded her from further pain when Ira and Sheila refused to cut their work trip short and race to her bedside but Booth couldn’t bring himself to seriously consider it, even now that Sheila and Ira Rosenberg had proved how incompetent they were as parents.

 

Willow was only a few short months away from her seventeenth birthday and in the fall she would be starting her senior year of high school. Booth knew how seriously Willow took her studies and he knew she would hate him if he forced her to leave the school where she had been studying comfortably for the last three years and threw her into a new school where she would know no one and have to cope with being the new kid. For a shy person like Willow, Booth imagined that the very idea would be enough to give nightmares.

 

Besides, although the whole situation had proven to Booth that Ira and Sheila were neglectful parents, it had underlined to Booth his belief that Willow was part of a very close knit group of friends. With the notable exception of Buffy, who was still missing, and her boyfriend Angel, who Willow had told him had left town after a very messy breakup, Willow’s friends had closed ranks around her, offering support and reassurance to Willow, obviously all caring about her deeply and wanting to look after her and encourage her recovery. Xander, Oz and Cordelia had made Booth proud of them, given how they were all busy with end-of-year exams and tests, particularly Oz, given that he was in his senior year, and yet they all came and visited Willow at least once a day.

 

Even Giles, who Booth had lost some confidence in since it had taken the librarian so long to go to see Willow in hospital, had called every day to check on how Willow was recovering. Willow had explained to him about how Jenny had been murdered and Booth knew that Giles would still be struggling with his grief. Booth had seen the pair together and he had seen how in love with Jenny Rupert Giles had been. Losing Jenny like he had would have been devastating for Giles and Booth had felt guilty about doubting the Englishman’s level of care towards Willow and her friends.

 

Of course, there was a niggling feeling in Booth’s gut about the whole situation. Jenny’s murder and the attack on the library were obviously connected but Booth didn’t know how... or why. Why would someone want to go after a completely normal group of high school kids and their mentors? Booth was glad that he and Willow had arranged for her to spend two weeks of the summer in D.C. with him. It had been arranged before the attack but now Booth was grateful... it would get Willow out of Sunnydale for a little while. She would be safe then... just until everything settled down again.

 

Booth turned his head to ask Willow if she was looking forward to the trip to Washington D.C. He imagined that she was, as during the days they had spent together she had talked about looking forward to seeing Parker and Jared again and Brennan and the team of squints. (Booth was trying to forget how often Willow mentioned Zach’s name when she talked about D.C. Sure, the kid had proved himself by getting stabbed trying to protect Booth and Brennan from Gormagon but Booth still couldn’t bring himself to believe that Willow had a crush on the young squint.)

 

The words Booth was about to say died in his mouth as he saw the peaceful look on Willow’s face, her eyes closed, and she breathed slowly, having fallen asleep with her head nestled against Booth’s chest, her ear resting just over his heart. Booth smiled, lowering his head and gently kissing the top of Willow’s head, brushing her hair back from her face tenderly. Ignoring the little voice in his head (which sounded a lot like Bones) that was telling him that his back would be very painful in the morning, Booth shifted so that Willow was in a more comfortable position and continued to gaze down at her. The white bandage that covered the gash on her forehead was a stark contrast to Willow’s skin, which was slowly regaining color after the ordeal she had been through.

 

Things weren’t back to normal yet, Booth knew. Willow hadn’t completely recovered, both physically and mentally from the attack but, given time, and love and affection, she would.

 

Everything was going to be fine.


	41. Chapter 41

Willow sat quietly in the school library, tapping her pencil lightly on her school books as she thought about the attack that had placed her in a coma and brought her father... her biological father racing to her side. Eleven months had passed since that fateful day and as much as Willow wanted to be able to say that things had gotten better, she couldn’t.

 

All right, that wasn’t entirely true. Angel was back to normal now... well, as normal as anyone could be after they had killed the girlfriend of their girlfriend’s mentor and terrorized the same girlfriend and her friends for four months and then being sent into a hell dimension. It was still Angel, though, and that was at least an improvement on the previous year.

 

That Christmas, Willow had borrowed a family tree that her great-grandmother had put together before her death and after a bit of research, she had discovered that she and Angel were related. When he was still human, Angel had slept with a local eighteen-year-old maid. Shortly after Angel had been turned, she’d given birth to a son named Liam. Angel had confirmed the story, remembering the maid’s name and when they had been together. The child, Liam, had carried Angel’s bloodline on until it reached the Booth clan.

 

Angel had been thrilled, hugging Willow when he found out that he was her great-great-great-great-grandfather (or something like that). It meant that, when they were patrolling, Angel was even more watchful over her than he had been previously. Giles had polished his glasses furiously when he’d found out, finally asking her if it had been a good idea to tell Angel, should Angelus return and go after her. Thankfully, Buffy had been there at the time to smack Giles in the arm on Willow’s behalf.

 

Spike and Dru were gone as well, although Spike had put in an appearance about a month ago. Willow shuddered at the memory of Spike’s cold fingers on her face as he talked to her... the broken way he’d sobbed into her shoulder as he recalled Drusilla’s betrayal. Willow had actually felt sorry for him... she still did, despite Xander and Buffy reminding her that he was a soulless monster who had killed two Slayers and still very much wanted Buffy to be the third.

 

Instead of Angelus, Drusilla and Spike, now there was the Mayor and Faith... the dark-haired Slayer who Willow had not felt right about from day one. At first, Willow had put the feeling down to her being jealous of Buffy having a new friend but then Faith had shown her true colors and Willow had felt as if she’d expected Faith to turn all along.

 

Of course, that hadn’t stopped her from being terrified when Faith had held that knife to her throat. Willow had been convinced that she would die right then at the hands of the Slayer. She’d begun to prepare herself for death, even as she plotted her escape, and couldn’t believe her luck when she’d managed to get those pages out of the book, giving Giles the information he needed.

 

Now they knew what they were up against... with the Ascension of the Mayor to demonic status that was slated to occur during their fast-approaching graduation ceremony and, despite Buffy’s assurances that everything would work out... because it always did, Willow wasn’t looking forward to it.

 

“Heads up, Snyder’s coming,” Oz said quietly from beside her, having spotted the principal approaching the library through the windows in the library doors. Buffy and Xander both hid the thick books they were flicking through beneath their school textbooks as Giles stuffed the crossbow he had been cleaning under the librarian’s desk. Willow looked up innocently when the door burst open and Snyder strutted in, as if he owned the place (which, technically speaking, he did but Willow wasn’t going to go into that).

 

“Ah, Principal Snyder, what can we do for you today?” Giles asked in a deceptively calm voice. Snyder huffed.

 

“I need to borrow Rosenberg for the moment, Mr. Giles. I do hope you don’t mind.” Snyder spoke with a voice thick with sarcasm.

 

Giles bristled, “Not at all.”

 

Willow got to her feet and cautiously approached the principal, trying to avoid looking at Buffy, who was rolling her eyes dramatically, and Xander, who was doing a rather amusing imitation of Snyder behind the principal’s back.

 

Snyder led Willow out of the library and down the corridors of the school until they reached his office. Snyder sat down at his desk and Willow, sensing no other option (although there was a part of her that wanted to run as far away from the troll like man as possible), sat down in the chair opposite him.

 

“Well, Miss Rosenberg. In a very short time, I will be rid of having to deal with you and all your little friends. I very much look forward to waking up and not having to breathe the same air as delinquents such as yourself, Miss Summers, and Mr. Harris. You will become the burden of society and I at least will carry no responsibility for your actions.” Snyder let out a little cackle that made him seem no less evil to Willow.

 

“What does this have to do with me?” she asked. Snyder shot her an annoyed look and straightened out a couple of papers on his desk.

 

“Your graduation day is fast approaching. The Mayor himself has offered to speak at the ceremony. You will also be speaking... you have been chosen as valedictorian. You have the highest results of all your classmates... although I personally think a slug would have been able to outscore Harris and Summers, and therefore you have been chosen. Don’t you even think about humiliating me in front of the Mayor, though... you got that, Rosenberg? You might not be as stupid as Summers and Harris but you’re still a member of their little gang, and I still don’t like you.”

 

Willow couldn’t bring herself to speak, so she just nodded. She was valedictorian? She supposed that she should not be surprised... numerous people had told her that she was the smartest person in her year but it was a widely known fact that she did not do well at public speaking... in fact, just the idea of speaking in front of her entire class... plus parents and whoever else was there... sent a shiver up Willow’s spine. It was her nightmare. All it needed was frogs and Willow would be passed out on the floor having fainted in terror.

 

“Right then... you have a week to prepare your speech. Do not embarrass me or this school... do you understand, Rosenberg?”

 

Willow nodded and got to her feet, walking out of the office wordlessly, too shocked to speak. She staggered down the hallway to the girl’s bathroom before she locked herself in a cubicle and threw up everything that she had consumed that day. Trembling and pale, Willow closed her eyes and fought to control the churning of her stomach. It wouldn’t be too bad... and with a bit of luck, the Mayor will have ascended before it was her turn to speak. It was actually very likely since Willow knew that the valedictorian generally spoke last.

 

Satisfied that she wasn’t about to throw up again, Willow flushed the toilet and rinsed out her mouth with a few handfuls of water from the tap before she slowly walked back to the library.

 

Xander was the first to look up and notice Willow’s appearance as she walked through the library doors and he was on his feet in a flash. Buffy beat him, however, to Willow’s side, putting her arm around Willow’s trembling form and half-carrying her, half-leading her, walking Willow over to a chair. Willow dropped into the chair heavily, keeping her gaze low. Giles handed her a cup of tea and Willow took a sip, relieved to find that it was an herbal blend that she and Buffy had discovered while shopping at a tea shop for a present for Giles. Willow found it to be calming and she took a few more mouthfuls before she carefully placed the cup onto the desk in front of her.

 

“What’s wrong, Willow?” Xander asked, crouching down in front of Willow. Willow took a deep, shaky breath.

 

“I’m valedictorian,” she told them. Buffy beamed.

 

“Well done,” she said, patting Willow on the back. Oz too was smiling supportively. Xander, however, had caught the look on Willow’s face.

 

“Oh... the speech,” he said. Willow nodded wordlessly.

 

“Is it kind of wrong for me to hope the Mayor ascends before then?” she asks. Oz snorted in amusement.

 

“Yeah... the speech is the last thing, so you should be safe.” Xander nodded. “Right, Giles?”

 

“Well, I must say that I am unfamiliar with the practices involved in an American high school graduation ceremony but from what I have heard from the other teachers, yes, the valedictorian’s address is the last thing on the program for the day. May I offer my congratulations? You must be very proud.”

 

Willow nodded. She was proud of herself. On top of helping Xander and Buffy pass and helping to prevent the end of the world numerous times, Willow had earned the right to call herself valedictorian... the individual who had graduated with the best results in her year. Her father would be proud of her. Willow resolved that she would tell him... Special Agent Seeley Booth’s daughter was valedictorian...

 

Booth was going to be thrilled... and so would the rest of the squints when they were told.

 

“Perhaps it would be best, however,” Giles’ voice cut through Willow’s musings, “if you wrote a speech... just in case you are required to say something.”

 

Willow’s happy bubble broke abruptly. She had been reassured by the knowledge that her speech would not be said... but now, at the prospect of possibly having to address all those people, Willow felt her entire body go cold.

 

“Just a suggestion,” Giles hastily said, in reply to the glares sent at him by Buffy and Xander, who had seen Willow go back to internally freaking out again.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow sat in the spare bedroom at Buffy’s house, having practically moved into the Summers’ residence since the last time she’d seen her parents... the fateful occasion where her mother had tried to burn her at the stake. Her laptop sat open on her lap and Willow stared vacantly at the computer screen, which was displaying a blank new message screen for her email program.

 

 _‘Dear Dad,’_ she typed, having thought of what she was going to say.

 

_‘Things have been busy here in Sunnydale. Our final exams are finally over (even I am glad of that) and our prom has happened. It was beautiful. I went with Xander... since we’re both single at the moment. He still had a dance with Cordelia, though (which was ok as far as I am concerned), and Buffy let me have a dance with Angel, which was nice since Buffy has just found out that he is leaving town after graduation. He will only be in L.A. though, so it isn’t too far. (Although I can’t picture Buffy being very good at a long distance relationship, so it may be the end for the Buffy and Angel boat.)_

_Speaking of graduation... Principal Snyder took me to his office today. Guess what! I’m valedictorian! I’m really excited and happy... although I kind of feel sick every time I think about the speech. I hate public speaking more than anything... except frogs._

_Ew, mental picture of me doing the speech and everyone on the stage with me and in the crowd are frogs... not much of a stretch for Principal Snyder, but still... stuff of nightmares._

_Moving swiftly on._

_The Rosenbergs sent me an email in reply to the picture I sent them of me in my prom dress. They went on about how grown-up I looked. They’re going to be in town for a couple of weeks during the summer... Sheila is doing a set of summer lectures at UCLA. They went on a bit about how I got accepted to so many colleges and wrote about how it must be due to their great parenting skills. I kind of doubt it but I’m not going to say anything._

_I’m glad I chose to go to MIT. There was a big part of me that wanted me to stay in Sunnydale with Xander and Buffy and there was another part of me that wanted to go to Princeton or even Harvard. I think I did the right thing and played to my strengths in going to a college that would challenge me and had a good course that was relevant to my strengths in computer technology._

_Another bonus of going to MIT is that I’ll be able to visit you and Parker during my term breaks. I think I’ll miss my friends in Sunnydale but I guess that is part of growing up._

_I can’t believe I have almost finished high school. Sometimes it felt like we wouldn’t even survive until graduation day... and now it is almost upon us. Of course, I’m not going to say I survived high school until I have my diploma in my hand and my friends and I are safely away from Principal Snyder._

_I will be busy for the next few days but I will send you an email before graduation._

_Lots of Love,_

_Willow’_

 

Willow hit the send button, smiling as she reflected on the prom. Oz had been roped into taking Anya (Willow was sure that he said nothing all night) and Willow and Xander had gone together, although it had been kind of awkward. Xander and Cordelia had had a rather big fight a few days before hand and things were still tense between them (although Willow hoped they sorted things out before Cordelia left for LA.). The cheerleader had, however, offered to help out with the thing with the Mayor, something that Willow was grateful for. They were going to need every person they could get, and Cordelia had been involved for long enough to know the basics of slaying.

 

Thinking of Cordelia and her departure to L.A. made Willow think of her own departure from Sunnydale. For a long time she had decided that UC Sunnydale would be the best place for her, as it would allow her to focus on helping out with slaying, as well as developing her magic skills, but then Giles had received a message from a Watcher that lived near MIT, a trusted friend of Giles’. He had reported that there had been a jump in the amount of Supernatural activity of late in the area (although, naturally with the number of colleges in the area, there level of supernatural activity was always high.) Giles had considered it, and then asked Willow if she was interested in taking up an internship as a watcher, so she would be able to help with the supernatural, while at the same time attending a college that would challenge her more that UC Sunnydale ever could. Giles had even asked some questions, and there was a coven that operated from quite close to MIT that Willow would be able to join.

 

Willow had been about to refuse when Buffy had told her that if Willow refused she would put Willow in a suitcase and put her on a plane to Boston herself. That night Willow had received an email from Dr. Brennan talking about colleges. Willow figured that Booth had told Dr. Brennan about her planning to stay in Sunnydale with her friends. Willow, at one point, would have been frustrated by Booth’s interference, but now...now she was touched by the obvious care her father, and his team, held towards her.

 

In the end, although the idea of leaving Sunnydale, and everyone within it, behind made Willow's stomach churn nervously, Willow had chosen to leave and make her own way in the world.

 

Willow closed down her laptop, pushing aside thoughts of college. There was no point thinking about college when it was possible that she wouldn’t even make it to the end of graduation day, which was drawing closer. Willow knew that there was a lot she would need to do between now and Graduation day.   Setting her laptop on her bedside table, and making sure that it would not fall off, Willow turned off the bedside light, and snuggled down beneath the covers.

 

Graduation day would be here before she knew it.


	42. Chapter 42

Willow had been right – it had been a long week, especially with Angel being shot by Faith with the poisoned arrow and the final preparations for graduation. She hadn’t had much time to work on her valedictorian speech since she had been helping Buffy by taking turns watching over the injured Angel. As disturbing as it was to have her many times great-grandfather shamelessly flirting her, his delirious mind thinking that she was his girlfriend, Willow stayed with Angel for her shifts, trying to cool the vampire’s fever with water and trying to soothe his pain through gentle words and soft encouragement. She had been very relieved when Angel had recovered, thanks to drinking Buffy’s blood.

 

Getting their class organized had also taken a lot of effort. Willow had used all of the teaching skills she had learned when she had taken over Jenny Calendar’s class the previous year to try and teach her group of seniors the finer points in slaying, hoping in her heart that they would survive but knowing deep down that there would be casualties. She might not like everyone in her year level but she didn’t want any of them to die.

 

The morning of the day before graduation, Willow had gotten dressed. She was supposed to help Giles pack up the library, given that, all going well, the library wouldn’t exist after graduation and the books had to be protected. She also knew that she was supposed to help set up the courtyard for the ceremony and that she needed to go over the plan for the graduation ceremony with her assigned group of students one last time. Willow wanted to go through the plan numerous times herself because, as she would be seated up on stage, Xander had decided that she would be the one responsible for signaling the rest of the students when the Mayor actually transformed. Then Willow was to jump off the stage and join the rest of her classmates. It was simple enough but Willow was terrified she would signal at the wrong time and cause a massacre. She didn’t want to be reason of her classmates dying and yet she had been pushed into the role and there was nothing she could do about it.

 

Having eaten some cereal for breakfast and washed the dishes, Willow had been getting ready to walk to the school when there was a knocking at the door. Willow frowned. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Xander was back to going to school in Cordelia’s car and Oz lived in the opposite direction of Sunnydale high to her... it was a bit out of the way, even though he still occasionally came by to collect her. Remembering her recent kidnapping by Faith and the Mayor’s goons, Willow considered grabbing a weapon but dismissed the feeling as being paranoid and instead cautiously approached the door of her parents’ home (she had offered to stay there the previous night as Joyce and Buffy had planned a mother/daughter bonding night before Joyce went to L.A. in order to protect her from the violence would occur at the graduation) and peered through the peephole. Willow’s jaw dropped and she let out a gasp and flung the door open.

 

“Surprise!”

 

BtVS/BONES

 

Willow was still shaking when she walked into the library an hour later. Xander, Buffy, Giles, Cordelia and Oz were all there when she walked through the door but all conversation died when their eyes fell on Willow’s pale face. Joyce was not going to be at the graduation and Xander had (without much effort) convinced his parents to stay away. Oz too had talked his parents out of attending and Cordelia’s parents were too busy with their impending court case to attend their only child’s high school graduation.

 

“Willow, what’s wrong?” Buffy asked, hurrying across the room to Willow’s side. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Please tell me you aren’t a ghost again.” She reached out a tentative finger, poking at Willow’s shoulder gently to see if it was solid. Satisfied that Willow was still solid, Buffy steered Willow towards the rest of the gang.

 

“What’s up?” Xander asked, drawing closer to his best friend.

 

“We have a problem,” Willow choked out as Buffy gently pushed her into a seat. Willow dimly realized that it was the exact same seat that she had found herself in mere days ago, when she’d told the others about how she’d been named valedictorian. She even had a funny feeling that it was exactly the same chair that she had dropped into on the fateful day, almost two and a half years before, when she and Xander had been told the truth about the supernatural’s existence and everything that came with it.

 

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate to point this out, Willow, but we have many problems that we need to worry about at the moment. Which one is worrying you?”

 

“A new problem... one we didn’t have before an hour ago.” Willow then elaborated, “Or rather... one we didn’t know we had until an hour ago.”

 

“Er, Willow... details are kind of good.” Xander suggested gently. Willow nodded, forcing herself to take a few deep calming breaths.

 

“My dad is in town,” she said. “And Parker and Dr. Brennan and Zach and Angela and Cam and Dr. Hodgins and Dr. Sweets... they’re all here. They came to see me graduate. Apparently they’ve just finished a case in L.A. and my dad was going to come anyway but since the others all know me and they’re all really close, Dad asked if they wanted to come, so Dad organized for Parker to get a flight to L.A., which got in last night, and they all drove to Sunnydale this morning... Well, my dad and Dr. Hodgins drove, the others were just in the car,” Willow babbled.

 

“Oh, dear Lord,” Giles said, taking off his glasses and beginning to polish the vigorously.

 

“What Giles said,” agreed Oz.

 

Buffy deflated a bit in her chair. “You couldn’t talk them out of it?” she asked. Willow shook her head.

 

“They stayed in L.A. for an extra week just so they could surprise me,” Willow explained.

 

“Well, I’d say it worked.”

 

“But... he’s an FBI agent... you’d think he’d have the brains to know when to run,” Cordelia offered. The other’s looked hopeful but Willow shook her head.

 

“No way, he’s not going to run, he’s too noble for that. He won’t try and get away from the danger... not if he thinks I’m in danger... not if he thinks there are civilians in danger.”

 

“But he’ll have your little brother with him... maybe if he thinks he’s protecting Parker...” Xander suggested hopefully. Willow shook her head again.

 

“He’ll split the team before he’ll leave a fight like what we’re expecting. He’ll probably send Parker away with Dr. Brennan, Zach and Angela. Zach and Angela would be hopeless in a fight. Cam, Sweets and Dad are all trained in combat. So is Dr. Brennan but Dad is going to want her as Parker’s final line of defense. I don’t know about Dr. Hodgins but I kind of imagine he’ll have learned how to kick someone’s butt... at some point anyway.”

 

“You don’t think they’re going to try and get involved... do you?” Buffy asked. Willow swallowed, feeling her stomach churn at the very idea.

 

“I’m trying not to think about that,” she admitted.

 

The group fell silent, all of them hating the position that Willow had unwittingly been put in. Of the group, she was the one they had thought would be least likely to have to deal with a parent being put in danger by attending their graduation. Now, though, not only was Willow’s father going to be in attendance but the rest of his friends too... and, most importantly, Willow’s little half-brother was going to be there.

 

“Nothing’s going to happen to them, Willow. I promise to you now, on my word as a Slayer and as your friend. I will not let anything happen to any of them,” Buffy said sincerity in every word. Willow looked at Buffy’s face, tears rolling down her cheeks.

 

“What if... what if some vampire sees my dad and thinks he’s Angel... and then works it out? What if he gets turned? I don’t want to have to stake my dad.” Willow broke down and Buffy had her arms around Willow in a flash, rocking gently as Willow sobbed. Buffy looked over her shoulder at Giles and the rest of the assembled Scoobies. They all knew that, because of his resemblance to Angel, Special Agent Booth would be more at risk of being injured, killed... or worse. Wordlessly, they all promised that they would do all they could to protect Booth, Parker and Booth’s team.

 

And if the worst did happen and someone that Willow cared about was turned, then she would not be the one who would have to deal with it.  

 

BtVS/BONES  


Willow’s gut churned the whole day, getting to the point where she knew that there was no way known that she was going to be able to eat that night. Booth was taking them all to a pizza place for dinner but Willow barely picked at her salad.

 

“You okay, sweetie?” Angela asked, running her fingers through Willow’s hair. Willow nodded, avoiding eye contact.

 

“I’m not all that hungry. I guess I must be really nervous about tomorrow. Public speaking is really not my thing,” she admitted, deciding that it was a truthful enough response.

 

“Would you like me to hear you reading your speech beforehand? I find when I’m addressing a large group of people, it helps if you’ve practiced in front of one person before hand,” Brennan offered. Willow smiled and shook her head.

 

“No, thanks, Dr. Brennan... but I appreciate the offer. I’m happy with my speech and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made my friends listen to it during this last week. It’s just the idea of speaking in front of that many people.”

 

“Hmm, when I have to do something like that, talk to a lot of people, I imagine that they’re naked,” Angela said.   Fortunately, Parker and Booth had gone to the bathroom and didn’t hear that comment. Willow’s cheeks turned the same color as her hair.

 

“Maybe not such a great idea for Willow, Ange,” Hodgins observed.

 

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Angela admitted. It was a little to risqué for Willow after all. “What do you think, Sweets? You’re a psychologist.”

 

Sweets shrugged. “Focus on something in the back of the room and just imagine that you’re at home, alone, doing the speech in front of your mirror. Imagine that there is no one else there.”

 

“Sounds like good advice,” Cam said approvingly.

 

“I agree,” Brennan agreed. “Although I find psychology one of the less precise forms of science, Dr. Sweets’ advice has a great deal of merit.”

 

Parker and Booth returned and Willow managed to finish her salad, unable to believe that it might be the last time she ate with the group he considered to be her second extended family (the first being Xander, Buffy, Giles, Angel, Cordy and Oz). They had invited her out to breakfast but Willow had used the excuse that she had already made plans with her friends. It was true... they were taking over the Summers’ house to eat breakfast, do a final strategizing session and then Buffy, Willow and Cordy were going to get ready together. Xander and Oz were going to get ready at Oz’s house before they would all meet again at the school... ready to save the world.

 

Well, that was the plan, anyway.

 

For the first time in her life, Willow just wanted high school to be over.

 

BtVS/BONES

 

“Did you sleep at all last night, Willow?” Buffy asked over the stack of chocolate-chip pancakes she had piled onto her plate.

 

Willow shook her head. “No... I kept having nightmares, so I gave up. I’m beginning to think this isn’t such a good idea.”

 

“We should have stuck with the hummus,” Oz offered.

 

“It’ll be okay. Angel is right. As far as we know, the Mayor’s weakness is Faith. Remember, Willow, never attack out of anger. Rubbing his face in the fact that I defeated her is going to make him really angry.”

 

“We hope,” Cordelia added.

 

Willow nodded and went back to eating the one pancake that she had put on her plate. She was certain that if she ate more she was going to throw up. She kept thinking about the nightmares that had plagued her sleep... the images of Parker, hanging limp form the jaws of a vampire, Dr. Brennan with her neck snapped... Zach with golden eyes and fangs... Angela and Hodgins, trembling as a giant snake bore down on them... Cam and Dr. Sweets running and getting cornered by vamped out vampires... her dad, lying in a pool of blood, fang marks in his neck... running constantly through her mind on a loop. The images didn’t stop as they got ready together, concealing their weapons beneath their graduation robes, continuing as Cordelia showed off her shoes with the pencils taped to the heel so that they served as a stake. Willow didn’t say anything as she went to the school in Cordelia’s car and they met with Xander and Oz on the front steps. Her phone beeped and Willow glanced at it. It was a message from her dad. She opened it, two words coming up on the screen.

 

_Good Luck._

 

Willow forced herself to take a steadying breath and looked up at the school, the same place that had been her sanctuary for the last four years.

 

“I will save them,” she told herself before following Buffy and the others to their fate.


	43. Chapter 43

"Rosenberg... get up here," Snyder yelled when he caught sight of Willow as she walked into the grassy area where their graduation ceremony was going to be held. Willow smiled at the others.

"Good luck." She grinned.

"You too, Willow." Buffy smiled, hugging Willow tightly. Willow coughed.

"Um, Buffy... oxygen please?"

"Oh, right. Sorry... kind of on edge."

"No reason to be on edge. We're going to be great." Oz smiled.

Xander nodded in agreement, giving Willow a hug of his own. "Not with me as key-man here and Angel not being key-man," he said. Willow rolled her eyes ad Buffy and Cordelia before walking towards the stage. She put her hand into the pocket of her robes, her finger's brushing up against the copy of her speech she had folded up and put in there earlier, just in case. It wasn't a good speech, she had been a little busy to write something overly meaningful, but if Willow did have to say it... it got the point across.

"Nice of you to be here, Rosenberg." Snyder scowled. He gestured to an empty seat on the stage.

"That's your seat... I will be sitting right next to you for most of the ceremony, so don't you dare to try any funny business, alright? Now excuse me, I have to go and talk to the Mayor." Snyder stalked over to the Mayor, who stood at the other end of the stage to Willow. She eyed him. It looked like Faith's coma had affected him... he was far paler than Willow remembered him being... although it might just be because he was going to transform into a giant snake within the next few hours.

The Mayor met Willow's gaze and she couldn't resist tilting her head to the side and giving a little smirk. The Mayor returned the gesture with a simpering smile of his own before returning his attention to Snyder. Snyder looked a little flustered and began to reshuffle his pages. Willow wondered what on earth they were talking about. She glanced over at Buffy, who was getting settled in her seat... not far from Oz. Xander and Cordelia and the majority of the student body were already sitting and a couple of them were looking up at Willow, slightly apprehensive looks on their faces. Willow forced a resolve face onto her face... a look of steadfast determination. She knew that, in the lead-up to the battle they were about to fight, she would be the one they looked up to. She would be the one who would need to reassure them that she... mousey little Willow Rosenberg, was not afraid and they shouldn't be afraid of what was about to happen either.

In response to her look of determination, a few of the students smiled and a couple of others straightened their backs and put on masks of determination as well.

Beyond the students sat the parents. Willow could pick out Booth and his friends. Parker must have been standing up in his seat, because Willow could see his head, and he waved at her. Willow waved back at him and a wide grin broke out on his face.

The final few students took their seats and Snyder crossed to the podium as the Mayor took his seat, just on the other side of Snyder's vacant chair. Willow fought the urge to gulp at the prospect of sitting so close to him.

"Congratulations to the class of 1999. You all proved more or less adequate. This is a time of celebration, so… sit still and be quiet," Snyder began, looking down at the students. Spotting someone in the crowd chewing, the troll-like man scowled.

"Spit out that gum. In the program of events today, it states that our next speaker would be our distinguished guest speaker, Richard Wilkins the third... I saw that gesture. You see me after graduation... but at our good Mayor's request, he has asked, for a turn on tradition, for the valedictorian's address to precede his speech, so I invite the Sunnydale High School Class of 1999 Valedictorian, Miss Willow Rosenberg, to the podium," Snyder announced. Willow got to her feet on autopilot, shooting a look out at Buffy, who was nodding encouragingly, and at Xander, who was giving her the thumbs-up. Willow walked past Snyder on her way to the podium.

"Humiliate me and this school, Rosenberg, and I will make the rest of your educational career a living hell," Snyder threatened before returning to his seat. Willow exhaled, trying to calm her frayed nerves, before she stepped up to the microphone. The rest of the class was clapping enthusiastically and Willow waited patiently for the applause to quieten, taking the opportunity to remove her speech from her pocket and unfold it, settling it on the podium in front of her. She looked at the sea of faces looking up at her and suddenly realized what the Mayor had given her... the opportunity to encourage the army... She was the general, rallying her army for the last stand against its foe. She glanced at Buffy, who was nodding approvingly.

"Go for it," Buffy mouthed, nodding approvingly. Willow gave a single nod in response, forcing herself into a slaying mindset, pushing all fear into the back of her mind. Then she began to speak, her voice ringing out, loud and clear, over the assembled crowd of students, parents and teachers.

"Thank you, Principal Snyder," she began. "I'm sure I am speaking for the entire graduating class of 1999 when I say that we will always remember you when we think of our days at Sunnydale High."

There were a few giggles through the audience at that and Willow didn't turn to see the look on the principal's face at the comment. She didn't know if she could keep a straight face.

"Thank you as well to our eminent guest speaker... Mayor Richard Wilkins, the third, for the opportunity to address you all so early in the proceedings. I'm actually going to be able to enjoy the rest of the ceremony now that I'm getting the whole speech thing out of the way nice and early."

There were a few more giggles at that... It was a well-known fact that Willow Rosenberg hated public speaking. Willow waited again for the giggles to die down, ignoring the fact that Xander had a hand over his mouth to stifle his amusement.

"When I was told I was valedictorian... I immediately thought of the speech I was going to have to give and once I'd finished throwing up in fear at the idea of addressing you all today, I thought about how I should start it. In preparation for writing this speech, I read lots of valedictorian speeches and none of them seemed to fit. We all know that Sunnydale High is a pretty unique place and so I thought that this speech should reflect that and be unique as well. I thought I would stick with tradition, though, and open with a quote. George Orwell once said that 'to survive, it is often necessary to fight and to fight, you have to dirty yourself.' I would like to assign one last high school assignment for you. Think about that quote during this speech." Typically, there were a few groans at that but Willow ignored them.

"High school has been one long battle... In fact, it's been a war. There have been casualties... a lot of people who should be here today aren't." Willow broke off and exchanged a meaningful look at Xander... both of them thinking about Jesse. Xander glanced up at the sky and Willow saw the tears glistening in her best friend's eyes.

"I... I don't think there is anyone here today who has gone through high school without losing a friend along the way... but here we are... D-day. The final day of a campaign that has seen triumphs and massacres... victories and defeats. I could go through a list of every single casualty this war has created but the fact is that I would be here until midnight... and I would still be missing names and I have no doubt you all have plans for tonight. As much as today is about us... the Survivors of Sunnydale, it's about the ones we've left behind along the way and even though after today, we'll all go our own ways and in all likelihood, we'll never all be together like this again, each and every one of us will be a survivor of Sunnydale." Willow glanced at Cordelia, who she knew was leaving Sunnydale for L.A. Cordelia met Willow's gaze and nodded respectfully. Willow knew that it was Cordelia recognizing her as an equal for the first time. Willow gave a nod in reply, acknowledging Cordelia's gesture.

"Even though we'll all take away different memories of Sunnydale into the next stage of our lives... whether it be college or work or travel, or whatever your future plans are, walk away today knowing that you are a survivor of Sunnydale High... and nothing... no one can take that away from you." Willow looked at Oz, who nodded approvingly at her. She glanced at the row, almost at the back, where Booth was sitting with his team and Parker. Parker must be sitting down, because Willow couldn't see him but she could see the look on Booth's face... and it was one of confusion. Willow wondered how on earth her speech sounded to an outsider... probably very stupid but she didn't care. This speech was for the army that was about to go into battle and no one else.

"Every one of us will change today... For some of us, the change will be minor; for others, it will be a major turning point in their lives... the end of their old life and the start of their new life, but we will all look back at today and see how we changed from the person who got out of bed today as a high school student about to graduate to the person who will crawl into bed tonight having been partying all evening, a person who has just graduated high school.

"At the beginning of this speech, I asked you to think about George Orwell's quote. 'To survive, it is often necessary to fight and to fight, you have to dirty yourself.' I wish I could say that the rest of your lives will be peaceful... but I would be lying. We're all old enough and mature enough to know that there will be more battles... more wars in the future for all of us after today. There will be battles to fight at college and there will be battles to fight in the workplace and sometimes those battles might be hard to survive, but I disagree with George Orwell. We don't need to resort to dirty tactics to survive. As long as we are determined and stand up for what is right... for what is good in this world, then you will have friends at your back and you will have their support. You just have to fight for your friends and fight for what is right and you will survive... if not in body, in spirit. In these battles, you will not only be fighting for yourself... but for those who can't fight for themselves... for those who are no longer with us... the casualties of war. I ask you this. Fight for their families... their mothers and fathers... their brothers and sisters... their other friends... the little old lady they used to go and sell Girl Scout cookies to when they were ten. Do it for those who are not there to fight for themselves and the ones they love. Fight with all you have. Fight for their loved one... and yours. Fight for your little brothers... who you love so much and would die to protect... fight for the parents... who you wish you had the chance to spend more time with." Willow looked straight at Booth as she spoke and she saw the frown on his face. He knew that something was up. Their eyes locked and Willow nodded in farewell, not knowing if she would ever have the chance to look at her father's face again.

"...fight for the teachers and mentors we had, because, seriously, without them we wouldn't have made it this far." Willow looked at Giles, who was furiously wiping his glasses. "Fight for the people who you don't even know yet... because maybe, one day, if you do fight, you'll meet them and be able to think to yourself, 'hey, I helped save your life. I fought for you.'"

A cheer was building from the students. And Willow went in for her finale. She lifted her voice, almost yelling, despite the microphone right in front of her.

"Today the battle that is high school is over for us... but the war is not over yet!"

The entire class of 1999 started yelling and cheering and Willow took a moment to collect herself. She looked at Giles, who was applauding her, a proud look on his face. Buffy was cheering and Xander and Cordelia started a chant of "Wil-low! Wil-low" that spread across the entire group of students like wildfire. Willow looked at Oz, who was beaming up at her and applauding. She didn't look up at the parents' section but there was a part of her that knew that, if this would be Booth's and the squints' last memory of her, then she would be glad. Snyder got to his feet behind Willow and approached her from behind.

"Interesting speech, Rosenberg. Meet with me after graduation... my office."

"Yes, sir," Willow smiled and walked back to her chair, knowing full well that if all went well, Snyder wouldn't have an office after graduation.

"Inspiring speech, Miss Rosenberg." The Mayor smiled as Snyder tried to regain control of the students. Willow said nothing but sat in her seat, smiling to herself.

"Alright... alright... calm down you lot," Snyder yelled as the chanting finally died down. "I would now like to introduce our esteemed guest speaker, Richard Wilkins, the third, Mayor of Sunnydale." There was a polite smattering of applause, mainly from the parents' section of the audience, as the Mayor walked over to the podium and Snyder sat back down.

"Miss Rosenberg sure is a hard act to follow, but I will try my best. Perhaps I should not have changed the order in which the speakers spoke..." The Mayor waited for a laugh but there was silence. He cleared his throat and began his speech, surveying the students as he spoke.

"Well. What a day this is... a special day. Today is our centennial... the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of Sunnydale, and I know what that means to all you kids – not a darn thing. Because today, something much more important happens – today, you all graduate from high school. Today, all the pain, all the work, all the excitement is finally over. And what's a hundred years of history compared to that? You know what kids? …"

Willow glanced down at where the others were sitting and saw Buffy groan and roll her eyes. She knew what was going through the Slayer's head. The Mayor was going to do the whole, painfully long and boring speech.

"Man, just hurry up and ascend already," Willow muttered under her breath. "You evil person."

The mayor continued on. "… for all of you, it may be that there is a place in Sunnydale's history, whether you like it or not. It's been a long road getting here. For you… for Sunnydale. There has been achievement, joy, good times… and there has been grief. As Miss Rosenberg stated in her speech, there's been loss. Some people who should be here today… aren't... but we are... at journey's end. And what is a journey? Is it just… distance traveled? Time spent?" The Mayor shook his head for emphasis. "No. It's what happens on the way, it's the things that happen to you. At the end of the journey, you're not the same. Today is about change. Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You ascend… to a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same... nothing."

Willow frowned at the shadow rapidly falling across the stage and looked up, along with the Mayor and the rest of the student body, as the sun was blocked off totally in a eclipse. The mayor flinched, as if he was in pain, but swallowed and continued on with his speech

"And so as we look back—" The Mayor broke off to groan in pain. "On the events that brought us to this day we… we must all…" The Mayor let out a scream and staggered sideways. Willow tensed. This was it.

"It... it has begun," the Mayor gasped, his voice still picking up on the microphone. "My destiny." A sickly sweet smile broke out across his face. "It's a little sooner than I expected. I had this whole section on civic pride…but I guess we'll just skip to the big finish!"

Willow took off her hat and placed in beneath her chair, signaling to the rest of the class. Each student quickly copied the gesture, shifting in their seats, getting ready to fight. Willow, despite knowing what was about to happen, gasped as the Mayor's suit split open and the Mayor's body began to stretch and grow. Willow heard Snyder whimper, leaning back in his chair before letting out a very unmanly squeal as the Mayor suddenly transformed into the giant, snake-like demon with spikes around its mouth. It grew on and on until it was taller than the school buildings. Willow heard the sound of running feet and knew it was the rest of the teachers fleeing but she stayed focused on the demon. She stood, her second signal and as one, the students all stood. Xander got up onto his chair, ready to direct his army. He was the general now.

Willow saw across the sea of heads and spotted the army of vampires that was working to block the exits. She waved her hand at Xander but he had already seen them.

"Buffy," he signaled.

"Now!" Buffy yelled and, as one, the graduating class of 1999 shed their graduation robes, revealing the weaponry that lay beneath.

"So it begins," whispered Willow to herself.


	44. Chapter 44

Willow backed away from the Mayor, dragging Snyder along with her since the principal had frozen up. Behind the students, the parents panicked and began to scatter. Willow lost track of Booth in the chaos but if she was honest with herself, she was paying more attention to the giant snake in front of her.

"Flame units!" Buffy yelled from below and a group of students carrying flamethrowers aimed at the demon that was once the Mayor and jets of fire shot out of the weapons, scorching the demon's skin as it screamed in pain.

"First wave!" Xander yelled from where he stood. A group of students... Willow's group of students, Willow thought proudly, took aim with crossbows at the mayor.

"Fire!" Xander ordered and they all fired their crossbows. The Mayor howled in pain, swaying dangerously above the students.

"This is just unacceptable," Snyder yelled, having recovered from his shock. "This is not orderly. This is not discipline." Snyder glared up at the Mayor, actually shaking his fist at him. "You're on my campus, buddy!"

"Well said, sir," Willow said as the Mayor glared down at them.

"Thank you, Rosenberg," Snyder replied before looking back up at the Mayor. "And when I say I want quiet, I want…"

"Willow, jump!" Buffy screamed. Willow threw herself clear, just as the Mayor's giant head came down and swallowed Snyder. Willow felt her stomach churn as she watched on in horror, knowing that she could well have been eaten then too.

"Willow, run!" Buffy called and Willow scrambled to her feet as the Mayor lifted his head again. Willow jumped off the stage, stumbling and falling as she landed before rolling and getting back to her feet, grabbing her crossbow as she did so.

"Second wave!" she called out to her fellow crossbowmen (and women), having received Buffy's signal. "Fire!"

As second volley flew up, hitting the Mayor's large and serpentine body hard. The Mayor screamed in pain again, lunging down and eating a student in the front row. Willow glanced at Buffy, whose eyes were wide in horror. A few students shifted uneasily, obviously close to breaking. Three students broke away, running from the Mayor, only to come face to face with the army of vampires that were closing in on the back of the group.

"Xander," Oz called.

"Arm bowmen," Xander called and Oz and his group grabbed bows and arrows up from the ground, lighting the tips of the arrows on fire before taking aim at the oncoming mass of vampires.

"Fire!" Xander ordered and the archers let loose a volley that left several vampires as dust before hastily resetting themselves for the next wave of arrows. Xander looked around, wincing as a student was sent flying into another three, knocking them over.

"Fall back," Buffy ordered the students around her and they all backed away from the Mayor nervously. Willow joined that group, stowing her crossbow in the holder that hung from her belt as Xander ordered Oz and his group to fire again. More vampires were taken down but there were still far too many for Xander's liking. Still, it seemed that the vampires had been persuaded that the students meant business and many turned around, only to face Angel and his team of students, along with Wesley. Angel smirked as the two groups looked at one another before he led his group into a charge, attacking the vampires full on.

Willow began to move to the back of the crowd, ready for the next stage of the plan. The flamethrowers were going to fun out of fuel soon and then... they would have to be ready. She caught sight of Angel taking on two vampires at once, his skills, gained over centuries of experience, far exceeding those of any of the vampires he faces as he carved a path through the students, leaving a dusty trail in his wake.

One by one the flamethrowers cut out and died, leaving the students that carried them dangerously exposed.

"Fall back! Fall Back! Get back!" Buffy yelled. "Xander, take them down!"

"Everyone... hand to hand," Xander ordered. Long-range weapons were dropped in favor of stakes, crosses and baseball bats. "Let's go... move... move... move!"

Willow looked over her shoulder, catching Buffy's eye.

"Good luck," she called. Buffy nodded.

"You too. Go get 'em."

Willow nodded before turning, stake in one hand and a short sword that Giles had given her as a graduation present in the other, and charging into the mêlée of vampires and angry high school students.

Willow fought her way through the mass of students and vampires. She spotted Angel once again, who was fighting off six vampires at once. Willow shoved her stake into the back of one of them before yanking the stake back out before the vampire imploded in a cloud of dust. Willow ducked the fist that had been directed at her face from another of the vampires that had been fighting Angel but the souled vampire quickly took care of the culprit. Willow smiled at the vampire who resembled her father so much.

"Thanks, Pops," she grinned. Angel smiled before grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the vampire that had been about to grab her from behind. Willow turned and shoved a stake into the heart of the vampire responsible.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked.

Willow nodded. "I'll be better if I knew where my dad and his team were... if I knew that they'd gotten out okay. I lost track of them."

"I saw them retreating back to the tree line at the edge of the school grounds," Angel told her. "They all looked okay... none of them were injured... they just looked scared."

Willow bit her lip. "I couldn't warn them. What could I say? There's going to be a giant demonic snake and an army of vampires at my high school graduation, so it would be better if you didn't come? They wouldn't have believed me."

"I know, Willow... Nobody is saying that you should have told them. Yeah, they might be a little annoyed once the shock wears off but they'll get over it... eventually."

Willow nodded before she bit her lip and summoned her resolve. There was still a battle happening around them... and the fight was certainly not over.

"You're going to leave after this, aren't you?"

Angel nodded heavily. "I'm sorry... It's too painful for me to stay... there's too many memories, for me and for Buffy. Me leaving will give her a chance at dating someone normal." Willow quirked her eyebrow, doubting that Buffy would ever be able to date someone normal... not for a long period of time, anyway.

"Damn, I kind of liked the idea of having her as a many times step-grandmother." Willow pouted. Angel laughed, staking a vampire who had gotten too close to them.

"Give me a call if you're ever in L.A."

"Alright. Good luck, Angel," Willow replied, drawing away from Angel.

Angel nodded. "You too, Willow. I will always be proud of you... and of the rest of your family. Remember that."

"I will," Willow replied before she turned and jumped back into the fray.

BtVS/BONES

Booth, Brennan, Parker, and the rest of the team watched the chaos unfold, having retreated to a partially hidden cluster of trees that left them sheltered but able to see everything that was going on. None of them spoke, all of them too shocked to say anything.

"I guess this explains Willow's speech," Zach softly ventured. Booth nodded. That hadn't been a valedictorian speech... that had been a military leader, psyching her army up as they were about to go into battle. He would never admit it but he had never been so proud in his entire life. So proud... and so scared for his daughter. When Willow had been forced to throw herself away from the principal in order to stop herself from getting... eaten by the giant snake thing that the Mayor turned into, it had taken Brennan, Hodgins, Sweets and Cam to hold him back, all of them instinctively knowing that this battle was beyond the understanding of all of them.

Booth glanced down, ready to reassure Parker, to tell him that he was sure Willow was okay, but his blood ran cold when the little boy wasn't standing beside him. He glanced around.

"Where's Parker?" he asked, panic in his voice. "Where's my son?"

"He's not here... where could he be?" Cam asked.

"He's gone..." Brennan broke off and looked down, unable to finish her sentence.

"Gone... gone where?" Booth snapped. Zach and Sweets shifted uncomfortably, both of them thinking they knew what Brennan meant. Sweets took a shaky breath.

"In many cultures brothers are expected to look after their sisters," he slowly explained. "Even if they are younger..."

"Cut the crap, Sweets. Where is my son?"

"He went to save Willow," Zach whispered and the group went deathly silent at the bombshell. Booth's legs gave out beneath him at the idea of not only Willow, but Parker as well, being in the chaos that was unfolding.

None of the others could think of anything to say that would make Booth feel better. They all looked towards the fight, all hoping to see some sign of either of Booth's children.

"Oh my God," Angela said softly, stretching out a shaking finger to point. Brennan felt her heart leap into her throat as she saw the scene that Angela had spotted.

BtVS/BONES

Willow shoved her stake through the heart of one vampire before yanking it out and turning, shoving it into the chest of another. Spotting Percy, who had a vampire's hand wrapped around his throat, obviously in trouble, Willow lunged forward, cutting the large vampire in the leg before slicing its head off with the sword.

Thanks," Percy gasped, rubbing his throat. "You're a little scary sometimes... you know... in a kind of sexy way."

"Percy... now is kind of not the time," Willow chided before freezing. No... Surely she had imagined it.

"Willow!" There it was again... Someone was calling her name... Someone who sounded rather young. Percy's face screwed up in confusion, obviously having heard it too.

"Who's that? It sounds like a kid."

"Oh my God, it's Parker... My little brother," Willow felt her face go pale, "Parker?" she screamed, "Parker, where are you?"

"Willow, HELP!" Parker yelled and Willow took off running towards the sound of his voice. The moment Willow saw her brother, time stopped. Parker cowered against a wall, backed into a corner by three large vampires.

"Get away from my baby brother," Willow screamed charging forward, slicing the head off one vampire in one stroke of the sword. As the first vampire crumbled to dust, the second one lashed out at Willow, sending her flying through the air into a wall. Willow let out a yelp, as her head and then her side collided with the wall, leaving her side screaming in pain from the impact and her head throbbing slightly, but she scrambled back to her feet, lunging forward with the stake and plunging it into the chest of the second vampire. It let out a groan and dusted.

"Willow!" Parker called and Willow spun around. The third vampire had grabbed Parker and was holding the little boy against his body, the vampire's hands poised to break Parker's neck with one simple movement.

"Another step and the boy dies." The vampire sneered. Willow froze, wishing that she still had her crossbow. Unfortunately, she'd lost it in a scuffle with vampires earlier. She glanced around, spotting a dropped bow and some arrows lying on the ground.

"Drop the weapons and put your hands up," the vampire ordered and Willow instantly obeyed, ignoring the battle that was raging around her.

"Turn around and kneel to the floor," the vampire ordered and Willow turned her back on them. Kneeling down, she cautiously lowered her hands.

"What are you doing?" the vampire asked.

"Tying up my shoe laces," Willow replied, hoping that the vampire wouldn't notice that she was not wearing lace ups.

"Make it quick," the vampire said and Willow rolled her eyes, carefully notching the arrow into the bow. She whispered a spell... one of the few she had gotten the hang of, under her breath and the tip of the arrow ignited, catching fire and burning brightly. She spun on the balls of her feet, rising and taking aim at the vampire as she drew back, wincing as the bright fire burned at the knuckles and fingers of her left hand before she released. The arrow flew safely over Parker's head, embedding itself into the vampire's chest deeply. The vampire exploded into a puff of dust... which effectively covered Parker, who coughed before he ran over to Willow, wrapping her in a hug.

"It's okay, I've got you... Where are Dad and Dr. Brennan?"

"Over there... I wanted to save you. Daddy is so scared and Daddy isn't supposed to be scared. He's never scared but he was."

Willow nodded, aware of the battle that was closing in on them. "I know, buddy, but I have to stay here and help my friends. You need to go back to Daddy. Tell him... tell him that I love him and that he should get out while he can."

Parker pouted but nodded. "What about you? You're bleeding." Willow smiled reassuringly, even though she could feel blood trickling down her face from a cut on her forehead from where she'd his her head, but it wasn't too bad, judging from the small amount it was bleeding, especially considering it was a head wound.

"I'll be okay," Willow reassured him, looking around. She knew that she should stay in the fight but she needed Parker to be taken back to Booth. She couldn't do it because Booth was likely to just grab her and run... or at least, it was possible. Willow suspected that Booth wouldn't want to leave so many teenagers behind as they fought for their lives. Willow spotted Cordelia and a grim smile crossed her face. Two years ago, she would never have done this... trusted Cordelia with her own life, but now... now she trusted Cordelia with the life of her baby brother... it was funny how fighting together changed how you saw people.

"Cordy!" Willow called and Cordy ran over.

"What happened to you?" Cordy asked. Willow shook her head, wondering how Cordelia's hair still was sitting perfectly, despite the fact that she was in a battle.

"Long story. Listen, can you take Parker back to our dad?"

Cordelia nodded, surprised that Willow trusted her with such an important errand. "Where is he?"

"Over by those trees," Parker pointed. It wasn't too far but there was now fighting between where they stood and where Booth was standing. Cordelia smiled cheerfully.

"Not a problem."

Willow put Parker's hand in Cordelia's. "Don't look back," she said, kneeling in front of him, "and don't come looking for me. I'll find you and Dad when it's over."

Parker sobbed. "Bye Willow," he said. Willow hugged him one last time.

"I love you, Parker," she told him before standing up. Her eyes met Cordelia's and impulsively, they hugged... enemies who had become good friends.

"Look after yourself... who am I going to tease about their fashion sense... or lack thereof, with you gone?"

Willow laughed. "Only you, Cordy, could make that a compliment." She smiled, pulling away. Cordelia cleared her throat and she tightened her grip on Parker's hand.

"Let's go," she told the boy. Tears rolling down his slightly dirty face, Parker waved at Willow before he and Cordelia headed off, skirting around the violence. Willow exhaled, slinging the bow over her shoulder and tucking some arrows into her belt and picked up her stake and short sword before she charged into the fighting.

Just in time to see Buffy racing into the school building, the Mayor slithering at her heels.

"Go, Buffy," Willow whispered under her breath before she ducked under a baseball bat that a vampire had picked up and staked the vampire responsible. Sheathing her short sword, Willow picked up the baseball bat and kept going, slaying her way through the mass of vampires.

She slid her stake into the chest into another vampire, yanking it out and turning around just in time to be blown off her feet as the school exploded. Willow flung her arms up over her face as the series of explosions set the buildings tumbling one after the other in a shower of bricks and dust. Once the explosions stopped, Willow got to her feet, wincing as her ribs throbbed at the movement. The majority of the vampires had fled or been staked already, leaving few still fighting. Willow spotted Xander and hurried over to him and together with Angel and Oz, they dusted the remaining members of the army until no more were left.

As the last vampire's ash drifted to the ground, Willow looked around. Most of the chairs lay on the ground, smashed or badly damaged during the fight. The sky was dark and the air smoky from the explosions. Angel squeezed her shoulder before he began to walk away and Willow knew that he was leaving.

"See you later, Gramps," she yelled with a grin. Angel turned and gave single wave,

"Take care of the rest of the family," he replied before he melted into the smoky haze.

"As much as I hate to say it... he was handy to have around," Xander admitted from where he stood at Willow's shoulder. Oz and Willow nodded as Cordelia approached them.

"Parker's safe," she reported to Willow. "I think he saw Angel though, and he got upset, because he thought your dad was in trouble, but then we saw Booth and he got all confused."

Willow nodded. "That's going to take some explaining... hopefully he'll be pretty easy to convince. Thanks... for everything, Cordy."

"This doesn't mean I like you," Cordelia said with a grin before she enveloped Willow in a hug. Willow gave a laugh.

"You know," Xander grinned, "Jesse would never believe it if he saw it... Cordelia and Willow hugging... isn't that a sign of the apocalypse?"

"Oh, shut up Xander," Willow and Cordelia said together as Cordelia moved over to him.

"What? I was just saying tha..." Xander was cut off by Cordelia's lips on his. Willow rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to go find Buffy," she told Oz, who nodded. Willow walked through the scene of devastation. Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances were arriving, wailing loudly. The police set up a perimeter and Willow smiled when she saw Buffy walking along the line of ambulances.

"Hey," she greeted, approaching the Slayer. "It looks like we got off pretty lightly, all things considering," Willow observed as they passed Wesley as he was loaded into an ambulance.

"Seems that way," Buffy replied softly. "Nice speech. I think we would have lost more if you hadn't done that... reassured them and reminded them of who we were doing this for." Buffy broke off, looking around anxiously.

"He made it through, Buffy... I saw him afterwards. He left just before," Willow told her, putting her hand on Buffy's shoulder comfortingly. Buffy nodded.

"Thanks... thanks for telling me. I thought he would be okay... but I worried."

"Yeah, I know." Willow nodded.

"Are you two alright?" Giles asked as he approached the pair, "Willow, that speech was... inspiring."

"That was the idea," Willow said with a shrug. "I'm fine... kind of pooped now, though."

"Yeah, you kind of don't look it, though," Buffy pointed out. "You've got dried blood all down your face."

Willow shrugged. "Okay, I've been better, but I'm not too bad."

"What about you, Buffy?' Giles asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I'm tired," she said, tilting her head to one side.

"I should imagine so. It's been quite a couple of days." Giles smiled.

Buffy laughed wearily. "I haven't processed everything yet. My brain isn't really functioning on the higher levels. It's pretty much: fire bad, tree pretty."

"Understandable. Well, when it's working again, congratulate it on a good campaign. You did very well," Giles encouraged.

Buffy nodded. "Thank you. I will."

Giles polished his glasses before putting them back on his face as they were approached by the rest of the Scooby Gang. They stood in a circle. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordy, Oz and Giles. The English Watcher cleared his throat, pulling a bundled up graduation robe out of the bag he had slung over his shoulder. He opened it out carefully.

"I, ah… I managed to ferret these out of the wreckage. Now, it may not interest any of you, but…" Giles finished unwrapping the bundle, revealing five high school diplomas. "I'd say you've all earned it. You've all made me very proud today and it saddens me that some of you will be leaving." Giles glanced at Cordelia and at Willow.

"Thanks, Giles," Willow said, walking across the circle to hug him. The rest of the group following her lead. Giles flushed and stammered, tears at the corners of his eyes.

"Er, right." He took the first diploma, "Cordelia Chase," he said gravely, passing the diploma to the dark-haired former cheerleader.

"Alexander Harris," Giles said and Xander rolled his eyes.

"Don't call me Alexander."

"I will if you don't call me by G-Man, or any other such annoying nicknames."

"You've got yourself a deal, Giles." Xander smiled, taking his diploma.

"Daniel Osborne." Oz stepped forward silently and took his.

"Willow Rosenberg," Giles announced. Willow took the diploma that Giles handed her, his eyes filled with pride. Willow grinned happily, her eyes welling up with tears and her throat too tight with emotions to speak. Giles turned to face Buffy.

"Buffy Summers...Sunnydale High school's class of 1999," he said as he handed the last diploma.

Buffy smiled. "Thanks, Giles. It means a lot."

Giles took a deep breath, looking around and taking off his glasses. "There is a certain dramatic irony that's attached to all this. A synchronicity that borders on… on predestination, one might say."

Buffy looked at him. "Giles... fire bad, tree pretty."

Giles looked chagrined. "Yes, s…sorry. I'm going to see to Wesley, see if he's… is still… whimpering." The Watcher walked off, barely suppressing a laugh at Wesley's expense.

"So, I guess this means that we all graduated from Monster High," Xander joked.

"Hellmouth High," Oz suggested.

"Just plain old Hell?" voiced Cordelia.

"Sunnydale School of Slayage," Willow offered and the five teens all laughed until Buffy turned her head, her eyes falling on Angel, standing in the distance, watching them. Their eyes met and they gazed at each other wordlessly before Buffy blinked and Angel turned and walked way. Willow gripped Buffy's hand reassuringly. There was a moment of silence before Cordelia spoke

"Well, that's the most fun you can have without having any fun," she pouted.

"How about the part where we kicked some demon ass? I didn't hate that," Willow smiled.

"Hear hear," grinned Xander as he and Willow high-fived.

Buffy cleared her throat, pushing all thoughts of Angel from her mind. "You guys want to take off? I think we've done pretty much all we can."

Cordelia raised her eyebrows and nodded. "I'm for it."

Willow looked at Buffy. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah… I'm okay... I could use a little sleep though."

"Yeah," Willow agreed, feeling her own weariness catching up with her.

"If someone could just wake me when it's time to go to college, that'd be great," Buffy requested, leaning wearily against a fire engine. Xander laughed as Oz got a thoughtful look on his face.

"Guys... take a moment to deal with this... we survived," he told them. Xander nodded.

"It was a hell of a battle," Buffy nodded.

"Not just the battle," Oz told the group. Cordelia looked at him skeptically.

"High school," Oz finished. The group looked across at the remains of the building, still smoking slightly from the explosions. The crowd had thinned dramatically as the students left, heading towards their homes, and the ambulances drove away. Willow could hear the chirping of crickets in the distance. It was hard to believe that it was all over.

"We're taking a moment," Oz announced as Buffy walked away from the fire engine and the group clustered together in a line, "and we're done."

Xander walked beside Cordelia. "So, school's done," he announced and the group began to walk away. "So, cool."

"Why do demons even come here anymore? I mean... don't they know..." Willow added, smiling as the tattered remains of a yearbook blew past, the phrase 'the future is ours' stamped across the front.

The group came into sight of the police line that had been put up around the school to secure the scene... just in case of further gas leaks, of course, and Willow let out a sigh. Buffy cringed as she spotted Willow's father, brother, and the rest of the people that came to Sunnydale with them on the other side of the line.

"You good?" Buffy asked. Willow nodded.

"Yep... I think I've got some explaining to do," she told the others. Xander cringed sympathetically.

"Want some help?" Buffy asked. Willow paused before answering.

"No... I've got this," she told the others before walking towards the barrier, the others following at her heels.

Willow was about ten meters from the edge when Booth ducked under it, racing towards her, obviously unable to take it anymore. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies fell back as Willow walked calmly towards her father until he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Willow bit her lip to stop herself from making a noise of pain as her side throbbed at the movement. But Booth obviously caught the pained look in her face as he quickly let go again. Willow smiled sheepishly at him

"You're okay?" Booth asked anxiously. Willow nodded.

"Yeah... I'm good. What about these gas explosions, huh? It's a good think no one was inside, like on a normal school day."

Booth shot her a piercing look. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. Willow grinned and leaned against her father's solid chest wearily.

"It was worth a try," she sighed, "but I knew it was a long shot. I've got some explaining to do, then?"

"Definitely," Booth confirmed.

"Okay," Willow sighed, looking over her shoulder as the others left. She waved at them.

"Bye, Willow," Xander yelled.

"I'll call you in the morning," Buffy told her.

"Call me before you leave... I have to check to make sure your wardrobe is ready for college," Cordelia added.

"Good luck," Oz chimed in before they headed off towards where they had parked their cars, a safe distance away.

"So... you're ready to go, then?" Booth asked. Willow nodded as they ducked under the police tape together.

"Yeah... I'm ready."


	45. Chapter 45

Willow was pretty sure her dad must have sent a very pointed look at everyone else because no one asked Willow any questions as they walked to the cars together. Parker had jumped at Willow and wrapped his arms around her in a hug the moment she was out of the police tape and hadn't let go but other than that, no one had said anything. The others did, however, keep sending her very concerned looks... but Willow reasoned that it might have something to do with the fact that she must look horrible with blood, dirt and ash all over her face and top.

"So," Hodgins eventually began, "I guess you're glad high schools over?" he asked. Willow shrugged.

"I suppose so. It's kind of hard to believe... you know, that it's over." She glanced over her shoulder and the smoking ruins that had been her second home for the last four years. "I'm kind of going to miss it."

"Don't worry, sweetie... you're going to love college. It's a lot of fun," Angela said with a smile on her face. Willow grinned, reasonably sure that her idea of fun and Angela's were completely different. The group reached to two SUVs that they arrived in and moved to split up.

"You guys are staying in a motel... aren't you?" Willow asked.

Booth nodded. "Yeah... why?"

Willow cringed, tapping her fingers on her chin thoughtfully. "It might be better if you all crashed at my parents' house tonight. They're out of town... naturally, otherwise they would have been at graduation, but motels aren't really secure and after... what happened at graduation... things are going to be a little crazy for a couple of days until things settle down a bit."

"You mean... with the gang of... whatever they were that you guys were fighting?" Cam asked.

Willow nodded. "Exactly. My parents' house will be big enough. Some of you might need to be on an air mattress or something but there should be enough room."

"It might be a good idea," Brennan nodded. Booth privately agreed, although he hated the idea of staying at Willow's parents' house without the couple in question knowing.

"Alright, why don't you guys head to Willow's house and get comfortable and we'll go to the motel and grab everyone's stuff and we'll meet you there," Hodgins suggested. Booth nodded and Willow wrote down her address and gave it to Hodgins. Then she, Parker, Booth and Brennan got into one car and the others got into the other car and they went their separate ways.

Once they reached her parents' house, Willow forced herself into activity, getting out spare bedding and getting the sofa bed ready. She'd had the foresight to ensure that there was clean bedding on her parents' bed and in the two guest bedrooms. Willow had never known why her parents insisted on having two guest bedrooms with double beds in them... it wasn't like anyone ever stayed at their house but Willow was grateful for it now.

Still, by the time the second car arrived and everything had been brought in, Willow was definitely feeling the strain of the day... even more than she had been before at the school. Parker had fallen asleep nestled beside her and Booth had carried him upstairs to the room he and Parker would be sharing. When he came back downstairs, Willow saw the look on his face and mentally sighed. Tired as she was... there was no way anyone else was going to get any sleep without an explanation and if Willow was honest with herself, she knew that she wouldn't be able to go to sleep, tired as she was, because of the thoughts flying around her head, the foremost of which was the question of how exactly she was going to reveal the truth to the others.

"So, I guess you want explanations now?" Willow asked.

Brennan nodded. "I've thought about what I've seen tonight... and none of it makes any sense. It's very frustrating."

"Trust me... this explanation isn't going to make much sense," Willow said, fighting off the urge to yawn. "So I'm going to need you to adopt an open mind." Angela actually snorted at that.

"Telling these guys," she gestured at Brennan and Zach, "to adopt an open mind is like telling the sun to stay up all the time... it's not going to happen."

"As open as you can... because what you guys saw... it wasn't a gang of thugs high on PCP armed with barbecue forks."

"We didn't think it was... why would we think that?" Sweets asked.

"That's what it usually gets put down to. Tomorrow's papers, possibly the news tonight... it's going to be all about how a gang of people high on PCP attacked the Sunnydale high school graduation ceremony, stabbing at people with barbeque forks, and then there was a gas explosion that left the school a smoking ruin."

"You're talking like this happens all the time," Booth commented and Willow shrugged.

"Well, not at the same time but yeah, this kind of thing happens from time to time in Sunnydale. This was just... bigger than most cases. I think I need to start at the beginning though."

"That would be advisable." Brennan nodded. Willow took a deep steadying breath.

"Okay. Like I said, it wasn't a gang on PCP... It was an army of vampires. The Mayor... the guy that turned into a giant snake... he ascended into a demonic form. In order to make the change permanent, he had to eat a lot of people when he first changed. Otherwise, he would return to his human form and it would have been all for nothing, which is why he targeted the graduation," she said, dimly aware that she was speaking very quickly.

"I'm sorry?" Angela asked.

"What?" Hodgins added.

"Be kind, rewind," requested Zach.

"Did you say Vampires? Demons?" Sweets asked, his eyes wide.

Willow nodded. "And I'm not crazy and this isn't a phase I'm going through. Stop thinking like my adopted mother," she told him, knowing that his fingers were itching for clipboard, a piece of paper, and a pen. Sweets looked chagrined.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It's a habit."

"Can we go back to the 'vampires are real' part, please?" Booth asked.

"Right. So, yeah, vampires are real... the supernatural is real. Supernatural creatures walk around humans. In a lot of cases, you can't tell if someone is supernatural or not and then, when it does click, a lot of the time it's too late. Game over."

"How do you tell?" Brennan asked.

"Vampires burn in the sunlight... they do not sparkle and never tell a vampire that he or she should sparkle because it will get you dead... very quickly... or very slowly... if they're into torture, which some are. They also can morph their features and adopt their human face or they can vamp out and have their game face on. Game face means that you can see their fangs, their eyes will be yellow, and they'll have ridges on their forehead. Once they're in vamp face, it's very often too late and unless you're good at fighting them off or have a cross on you somewhere, you're a goner. The older a vampire is, the less likely they are to use their human face and the older a vampire is, the stronger a vampire is... most of the vampires tonight were less than a few months old... in vampire terms anyway," Willow told them, trying to refrain from going into babble mostly so that the others had a better chance of understanding.

"You mean... those ones tonight... they were weak?" Booth asked, his face pale as he remembered how Willow had been thrown effortlessly into a wall.

"Compared to a master vampire, yes... but even a newly risen vampire is stronger than an ordinary person. That is why we took out as many as we could with ranged weapons... because we knew that there was no way we could have done it with just hand to hand. Vampires also do not have a reflection, although they can be filmed. Their fashion sense is also very often a bit... out of date... they tend to live a bit in the decade that they were turned in until it begins to make them really stand out. Vampires are supernaturally fast and strong and they heal very quickly. Vampires also do not like crosses... crosses burn the skin of vampires. Holy water also burns them and if they drink it... poof. "

"Poof?" Hodgins asked.

"Yeah. If you didn't notice before, when they die, vampires don't have bodies... technically, they are already bodies, just ones that walk around because they're being worn by a demon, like a costume. Instead, when they die, they explode into a cloud of dust and ash, hence, poof."

"And how do you kill a vampire?" Cam asked, "I saw you fighting them with a stake."

"Yeah." Willow pulled out her stake and her short sword, which she'd, kept tucked away until then. "A wooden stake to the heart will kill a vampire. Beheading also works but it's harder. Crossbow bolts are also effective and arm bow arrows as well. Guns are not effective and will only make the vampire angry. It hurts them but it can never kill them... even if you shoot them in the head. Never shoot a vampire with a gun."

"Good thing you didn't get involved then, Booth," Cam observed and Willow cringed, having not even realized the potential of that. God, she'd been a fool.

"I'm so sorry you guys have been dragged into this. I would have tried to talk you out of coming... it was way too dangerous and Parker almost got killed and it would have been my fault."

"Willow, don't be. We made the choice. I was the one who wanted him here. He's been asking me if he could come to see you graduate for months, even before we found out you would be valedictorian," Booth said, sitting beside Willow on the couch and hugging her close.

"We saw you fighting, protecting Parker," Cam said.

"It was very impressive," Brennan agreed.

"Nice shot, by the way," Hodgins grinned. "With the bow and arrow."

Willow blushed at the compliments and shrugged. "I was just going off instinct... and adrenaline."

"That doesn't stop it from being impressive, sweetie," Angela told her. "Actually, it kind of makes it even more impressive."

"What about the big giant snake thing? That wasn't a vampire... was it?" Zach asked.

Willow nodded. "Yes... that wasn't a vampire. Like I said earlier... the Mayor ascended into a demonic form. A different type of demon than vampires. The mayor's ascension to his demonic form has been a long, drawn-out process with lots of rituals and stuff involved and I don't really understand it... but yeah... thankfully, not so much of an issue now."

"Because the school blew up?" Cam asked for confirmation.

"Buffy led him to the library and then jumped out the window. We, er... this doesn't go any further... right?" Willow asked. She, and everyone else, looked at Booth

"No one is going to believe any of this anyway. This doesn't leave the room," Booth told them.

"We packed the library and the basement with explosives and Giles triggered it, and, well, boom. Bye-bye, demon snake," Willow finished.

"Whoa... how did you guys get explosives?" Sweets' jaw was hanging open.

"Er... I'll give you the shortened version of the story, because it is kind of long-winded. It was the Halloween before I met you all. There was a spell and we all became our costumes. Xander was in a soldier's uniform, so he turned into a real soldier. At the end of the spell, he retained all the memories of the soldier... including how to make explosives. That's why he had such a lead role today, giving orders and all that. He was so proud when he found out he was going to play such a key role." Willow smiled fondly as she remembered how Xander had puffed his chest out and gloated at Angel.

"What about... what about Angel... this guy that we're related to... what role does he play in this?" Booth asked. Willow inwardly cringed.

"Yes, that... Um, well, he is actually related to us... distantly. Except, well, it more like he's my numerous times great-grandfather."

"What?" Booth asked, his eyes going wide in surprise.

Willow winced. "He's a lot older than he looks. He was born in the 1700s, in Galway, Ireland. He is, in fact, a vampire... with a soul."

"And you thought that John Wilkes Booth was the black sheep in your family," Hodgins teased.

Booth glared at him. "Don't make me shoot you, Hodgins."

"About 100 years ago, Angel, or as he was known, Angelus killed a Gypsy girl... I think she was the daughter of the clan leader or something. Anyway, the tribe came together and as an act of revenge, they cursed him with his soul, so he would never be happy again and he would feel guilty for the rest of his existence. It worked... up until last year. He and Buffy... well... you know... did it... and it made him feel good enough that he lost the soul again. Not much fun, if I'm honest."

"Did he... hurt you, or anything?" Booth asked, looking ready to kill Angel, family or not.

"Not... not directly. I mean... it was members of his gang that dropped the bookcase on my head last year but we think that was Drusilla that organized that, not Angelus."

"Drusilla?" Sweets asked.

"Angelus' vampire childe... one of them anyway. She's insane but she's also psychic and she knew that we were going to try and resoul Angel. She didn't like that, so that is why she attacked," Willow explained. "Anyway, we finally managed to give Angel back his soul but it was too late. He'd opened up a portal that would suck us all into hell and it required a blood sacrifice, so Buffy stabbed him and he got sent into hell. He got brought back about three months later, a little worse for wear but back to normal now. He and Buffy have broken up and he's left Sunnydale... as of tonight."

'That must have been weird... your best friend dating your great-great-grandfather, or whatever?" Angela said with a grin.

Willow nodded. "Yeah... When I found out, I used to tease Buffy and call her Granny. She didn't really like it."

Hodgins, Angela and Sweets all snorted in amusement and Willow gave a shy smile, remembering those few occasions fondly. Xander had found it rather funny and even Giles had coughed and polished his glasses furiously, avoiding looking at any of the teenagers, lest they saw the smile on his face, brought on by the horrified look on Buffy's face. There would be no more of that now, though... not with Angel and Buffy breaking up, it would be too painful for everyone involved.

"Umm, any other questions?" Willow asked.

"Why Sunnydale? What's so special about here?" Dr. Brennan asked.

Willow nodded. "Good question. The answer is that there is a large portal located in Sunnydale... under the high school library where I spend most of my time, actually. It used to be known as Boca del Infierno by the Spanish.'

"Hellmouth," Zach translated.

Willow smiled at him. "Exactly. Basically it's a mystical portal that produces dark energy that attracts the dark creatures, such as vampires and demons. It makes them stronger than they are anywhere else and therefore it is the place to do all kinds of evil plots and schemes. The Hellmouth can also affect normal people, making them do things that they would not or could not do anywhere else. When the Hellmouth is open, all kinds of evil things come out but it doesn't get opened up very often, thankfully, only maybe once or twice a year." Willow shuddered at the memory of the hell-beast that had almost dragged her into the Hellmouth the day that Buffy died. There was no way she was going to tell Booth that story, though... he would never let her come back to Sunnydale again if he knew about it.

"So... it's definitely closed right now?" Angela asked for confirmation.

"I wouldn't be here talking to you guys if it wasn't... I would be out there trying to close it. No, it's very safe at the moment... We did kind of bring the school down on top it and the Mayor was doing a pretty good job of making sure he was top dog on the Hellmouth for the past year, so until everything settles down again and the next big bad steps up and takes charge of things, it'll be quiet.

"Well, that's a relief," Sweets commented, looking rather fearful. Willow cringed, knowing that none of them would be able to get much sleep that night.

"We're safe in here, right?" Hodgins asked.

Willow smiled and nodded. "Yes, a vampire needs to be verbally invited into a residence and there hasn't been any vampires invited in here."

"Alright, that's good to know. Um, I might head off to bed, if that's okay. It's kind of been a long day and my head's kind of spinning from all this vampire talk," Angela conceded, getting to her feet and heading upstairs. Hodgins smiled and followed her up.

Brennan nodded. "It is very late... perhaps we should all try and get some sleep." She looked at Willow, who gave weary smile of thanks. She had been tired before, at the school, but now she was past exhausted.

"I've got a first aid kit in my bag. I'll have a look at those scratches, if you want, Willow," Cam offered. Willow was about to decline, planning on using her own, reasonably extensive supply of first aid equipment to patch herself up before she went to bed but she saw the look on her father's face... the slightly guilty look (strikingly similar to the look Angel had on his face when he was dwelling about his past crimes) that told Willow that her dad was kicking himself in the backside mentally for not insisting on getting her checked out earlier. He had asked her in the car on the way back to her parents' house if she had been checked out. Willow had lied and told him that she'd been given the all clear from one of the EMTs. It wasn't a real lie... she had seen one of the EMTs but they had taken a look at her wounds and determined that, although Willow did not need hospitalization, they thought she should get checked over by a doctor. Cam was a doctor... so Willow was off the hook.

"Um thanks, that might be good." Willow smiled sheepishly. Dr. Brennan headed upstairs, and Willow got up too, her legs shaking a little under her weight.

"Are you okay?" Zach asked.

Willow smiled weakly. "Yeah, just a bit tired... it's been a long week."

Willow startled when she felt the ground disappear beneath her feet before she realized the Booth had picked her up and was carrying her towards the stairs. Willow ordinarily would have fought against it but at that particular moment, she was too tired to even contemplate arguing that she was old enough to go up a flight of stairs by herself.

"Goodnight, boys," Cam waved at Dr. Sweets and Zach, who were going to be sleeping on the couch and an air mattress on the floor of the living room. In the upstairs bedrooms, Angela and Hodgins were sharing a room, as were Cam and Dr. Brennan, and Booth and Parker.

At the top of the stairs, Willow shifted in Booth's arms. "I'm good to go from here," she told him and Booth nodded, letting her legs drop to the ground so that Willow was supporting her own weight. He still, however, held her close as Cam hurried off to the room she was sharing with Brennan to fetch her first aid kit.

"I was so worried about you today," Booth said in a soft voice, rubbing Willow's back gently, "I thought I was never going to see you again."

Willow tucked her head under his chin. "I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"You're going to be safe there, aren't you? At MIT?"

Willow hesitated. "I can't say that I won't still be helping out with patrolling and research, because I will be. Giles has connections in that area and I'm going to be helping them out... but I doubt there will be anything like this there. Sunnydale is the demonic hotspot of the world at the moment – that's why there are so many vampires and demons here. MIT is nowhere near that bad. From what Giles has said, D.C. is very quiet too. There isn't much demon activity going on there."

"Good," Booth nodded. "Promise me that you'll be careful though,"

"I promise," Willow said solemnly and Booth hugged her tightly.

"Alright, have a good sleep. We won't wake you in the morning."

Willow snorted. "I'll probably wake up early afternoon some time," she told him. "Feel free to help yourself to anything you find in the cupboards or the fridge."

"Thanks," Booth nodded, finally letting Willow go as Cam stepped out of her room, first aid kit in hand. Patting Willow's shoulder once, Booth walked back to the room that he and Parker were sharing while Willow led Cam to her room.

"Thanks for doing this," Willow said as Cam dabbed at the wound on her forehead with an antiseptic wipe.

"No problem. It's been a while since I've had to patch someone up... it kind of takes me back," Cam smiled.

"Not just this," Willow gestured at her forehead, "but... but staying through all the explanation. I know that it probably made no sense, especially because you guys are so rational, but..."

"It's okay, Willow," Cam smiled. "Trust me, after what was saw this afternoon... it was pretty believable."

"Do you think any of them are going to be able to sleep tonight?"

Cam paused thoughtfully, quickly finishing putting a bandage over the graze on Willow's forehead and beginning to check over the rest of Willow's battered body.

"I think that everyone is going to have a disturbed sleep," she admitted. "What we saw... it was pretty scary."

"I know... when I learned you guys were coming, I stocked up on coffee and got my parents' coffeemaker out... just so you guys are able to operate."

Cam laughed. "I'll say thank you now then. You'll be okay, I think. You're going to be a bit stiff and sore in the morning, and your ribs are probably bruised, so take it easy, and don't get thrown into any more walls, okay?"

"Okay," Willow acknowledged.

"Have a good sleep, Willow... you deserve it." Cam smiled, putting her arm around Willow in a half hug. "You mom would be so proud of you."

Willow swallowed against the thick feeling in her throat. "Thanks," she managed to say before Cam left the room, closing the door as she left. Willow gingerly got up from where she had been sitting on the edge of her bed before she went to her bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then she staggered back into her room and, ensuring that the curtains over her French doors were closed (something she had become paranoid about ever since the Angelus fiasco), she changed into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, flinging her bloodied and ash-covered clothes into a corner. The she crawled under the covers of her bed, barely remembering to flick off her bedside light before she succumbed to her exhaustion.

BtVS?BONES

Parker tip-toed out of the room he was sharing with his dad and crept down the hall towards Willow's bedroom. From the landing, he could hear the sound of snoring coming from the living room where Dr. Zach and Dr. Sweets were sleeping. Parker covered his mouth to stifle his giggles before he continued on his journey. He paused before he got to Willow's door before he turned the door handle and pushed the door open, remembering to close it after himself. He crept across the room to his sister's bedside and nervously poked her hand.

"Hmm," Willow said sleepily, blearily opening her eyes and looking at Parker.

"Parker? Are you okay? It's five o'clock in the morning."

"I had a nightmare and I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep with Daddy snoring in my ear. You don't snore."

Willow sleepily smiled. "You're right, I don't. Come on then. In you get."

Parker beamed as Willow slowly wriggled over to give him some room and climbed into bed beside her.

"The snake man isn't going to get me, is he?" Parker asked. Willow smiled and shook her head.

"No, he's not," she whispered. "You're safe."

"'Cause you killed the bad guys... you slayed them. You protected me."

"And I promise that, as long as I am around you, I always will protect you from the things that need... slaying," Willow said, smiling despite her weariness at Parker's choice of words.

"'Cause you're my big sister... my slayer." Parker smiled, snuggling close to Willow and yawning before he fell asleep. Willow lay awake as she listened to Parker's breathing.

"For you," she whispered as she began to drift back into a deep slumber, "I will be anything... even a Slayer."


	46. Chapter 46

Special Agent Seeley Booth woke with a start. He looked at the clock on the bedside table and groaned. It was only seven o'clock in the morning, far too early considering he hadn't been able to get to asleep until well past four o'clock in the morning. He rolled over, looking to see if Parker was still asleep, but he felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw that the little boy wasn't there. Booth sat bolt upright, unconsciously looking to see if the window was still shut, despite Willow reassuring him that vampires couldn't enter a house without a verbal invitation. The window, however, was shut and Booth got out of bed, pulling on some clothes on top of the shorts and FBI t-shirt he had slept in. Stepping out of the bedroom, Booth looked up and down the corridor for signs of Parker or that anyone else was awake.

Following his gut instinct and remembering the night of the storm back in D.C the first time Willow visited, Booth walked down the passageway towards Willow's room. He cracked the door of Willow's bedroom open, tapping lightly on it. Upon getting no response, Booth poked his head into the room, smiling when he saw Parker, curled up against Willow, both of them sound asleep.

Satisfied that both of his children were safe and sound, Booth headed downstairs, ready to make up a pot of coffee. He knew what the squints were like when they had not had enough sleep and he knew it was best practice to have coffee on hand to calm any grumpy scientists.

Booth glanced into the living room on his way to the kitchen. Sweets was sound asleep, snoring quietly on the couch, but Zach was sitting up on his air mattress, his legs drawn up to his chest and his chin resting on top of his knees thoughtfully. The youngest squint's gaze was far away and distant and Booth knew that Zach had slept even less than Booth had.

"Zach," Booth said in a soft voice, "I'm making some coffee. Do you want some?" Zach startled violently at the sound of Booth's voice, obviously having not realized Booth was there.

"No, thank you, Agent Booth," he politely declined. "I find that coffee tends to make me think and I don't believe that would prove advantageous for me at the present moment, considering what we saw yesterday."

Booth nodded. He should have known Zach would be jumpy after the previous day. Zach was still getting over his stabbing from the previous year emotionally... Booth was certain that Zach had a minor case of PTSD and seeing the violence at Willow's high school graduation, watching a battle from the sidelines was bound to have brought on some less than pleasant thoughts and memories of Zach's time in Iraq.

Booth would know, his sleep had been plagued by nightmares of Willow's and Parker's dead bodies, marked with vampire bites to the neck, pale and cold. Booth knew that he woke up another time and his face and the pillow had been moist with tears, as if he had been crying in his sleep.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Booth asked Zach. Zach hesitated before working his way out of the cocoon he had made himself out of his bedding and trotting around Sweets, who was still sleeping, and followed Booth into the kitchen.

"So... did you have nightmares as well?" Booth asked, getting straight to the point as he started making the coffee.

Zach paused. "No... I don't think I slept, but I still imagined several things that were very frightening and nightmarish. I think that, had I fallen asleep, I almost certainly would have had nightmares," he replied honestly. Booth nodded in understanding. From the occasions when the squints had slept at the lab over the last year, Booth knew that Zach often cried out in his sleep and suffered badly from nightmares.

"Yeah, I must admit, I didn't sleep overly well either," Booth admitted, deciding that he would try and help Zach. Over the past year, they had gotten to know each other better and now Booth had a greater degree of respect for the younger squint.

"That is understandable," Zach stated, "Did you have dreams about something happening to Willow... or Parker?"

Booth nodded. "Them... or one of you guys. The fact is that it was a battle situation and I couldn't do anything. I didn't have my gun with me... I was powerless... and then, when Parker went missing, I was terrified I would lose him... and I almost did. If Willow hadn't rescued him when she did, Parker could have died."

Zach nodded sadly, the same thought having crossed his mind. It would have been awful if something happened to Parker... Either of Booth's children but especially Parker. Zach had a couple of nieces and nephews that were about Parker's age and Zach couldn't imagine something happening to them.

"What... what Willow told us afterwards... about how even if I had gotten into it, I would be dead... I wouldn't have known what to do... how to kill the... vampires. I would have been killed and I don't want to think about what would have happened to the rest of the team or my family, if that would have happened. Willow would have never gotten over it, she's too much like me."

"She seemed to feel very guilty about the danger we were in when we were talking about it," Zach agreed.

Booth looked at the young squint. "The fact is, Zach, is that it was a battle situation but none of us could have done anything... but it's over now. Willow is going to be okay... maybe not straightaway but eventually. It's going to take time and support and she'll need you to help her. She's coming back to D.C. with us and you're the closest thing she has to a friend there. You need to be there for her... if she wants to talk about it, cry, whatever. I need you to help her. Can I trust you with that?"

Zach looked up, his eyes meeting Booth's. Booth inwardly cringed at the youthful innocence that shone in Zach's eyes, despite how much death and destruction the younger man had seen. Still, there was a determination in the youngest squint's face, one that Booth recognized.

"Yes, Booth, I won't let Willow down. You can trust me to look after her," Zach said and Booth believed every word that Zach said. Zach had been given a job, a task to focus on, and there was no way that Zach was going to not do his job.

"Good." Booth nodded, pouring a mug of coffee. "Now, go get some sleep. You're going to need it."

Zach nodded and headed back to the living room. Booth flicked through an old newspaper that had been left on the bench before he decided he should go and have a shower before anyone else got up. As he passed the living room on his way to the stairs, Booth glanced into the room, smiling as he saw Zach sound asleep on his mattress, huddled under the blankets.

"That's it, Zach," Booth whispered encouragingly, smiling briefly, before he headed upstairs.

BtVS/BONES

"Daddy!" Parker cheerfully greeted as he entered the kitchen. Booth smiled when he saw his son, still wearing the clothes he had slept in and his hair dishevelled.

"Hey, buddy, do you want some pancakes?" Parker nodded and climbed up onto the stool beside the one Booth was sitting on.

"Willow's still sleeping," Parker told him and Booth nodded.

"She's very tired after yesterday, Parker. We need to let her sleep."

"I know." Parker nodded, the smile slipping off his face a little. "She had to fight really hard to save me from the monsters. She got hurt."

"I know, Parker. They're gone now, though. They aren't going to get you." Booth put his arm around Parker's shoulder and the boy hugged Booth tightly. Booth rubbed his son's back reassuringly.

"Are you two alright?" Brennan asked as she and Cam walked into the kitchen, both dressed and ready for the day. Cam made a beeline for the coffee but Brennan approached Parker and Booth.

"Didn't get much sleep, but other than that... okay. I think it's still sinking in," Booth told her. Parker stayed where he was, wrapped in Booth's arms, and both of the adults knew from the subtle shaking of the small boy's shoulders that he was crying.

Brennan nodded in understanding. She had anticipated that Booth would react more to the news that Willow had been fighting the supernatural for the last two and a half years. It made sense for it to have not really sunk in yet for the former sniper.

Despite it never being proven scientifically, Brennan had always suspected that the supernatural existed, perhaps not in current times but at some point of human history. There were too many folk tales, theories and versions of different monsters for there not to be some factual basis for it. She had even done a paper on it many years ago. Now, however, Brennan had her proof. The supernatural existed and was very much a part of the 21st century.

Booth rubbed Parker's back, wondering how on earth he was going to explain what had happened to Parker. The truth was scary but Parker had seen too much to pass it off as a figment of his imagination. Booth had seen a lot of things over his years as an FBI agent and as an Army Ranger but nothing compared to what he, Parker and the team of squints had faced. He looked at Bones over the top of Parker's head and their eyes locked on to one another. Brennan reached out and held Booth's shoulder.

"You have to think that everything will work out," she told him. "We are all relatively uninjured. We are safe, thanks to Willow and her friends, and soon we will be heading back to Washington D.C. Willow will need your help to know that you don't blame her for what happened."

"Brennan is right, Seeley. We weren't paying attention when we arrived but when Willow saw us, she was scared. She didn't want us to be there," Cam added, approaching the partners. "She wasn't scared about making the speech... or at least, not entirely. She was scared that something was going to happen to one of us."

"Cam's right," Parker said quietly, his voice muffled by Booth's jacket. "It wasn't Willow's fault that the man turned into a giant snake and then the people with weird faces attacked us...she tried to protect us. She saved me. She told me that we had to get out. She tried to protect us. She was a real superhero... she saved everyone and her friends did too."

"I know, buddy," Booth said, rubbing Parker's back reassuringly. "I don't blame her. Last night, yeah, I was annoyed about it, but now... now I'm just glad it's over. Willow's leaving Sunnydale... she's going to MIT. She'll be a long way from... from the bad things that have happened here."

Brennan and Cam both knew that Booth was talking about the Hellmouth They knew that he wanted his daughter as far away from the supernatural portal beneath the high school as possible. Brennan couldn't help bet agree. Willow didn't have superpowers... she wasn't like her friend Buffy who had the strength, speed, and knowledge needed to take down the demons and vampires. Willow, on the other hand, had the knowledge but not the physical advantages of being a Slayer.

"Oh, I smell coffee. There is a god," Angela exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen. Hodgins following, bleary-eyed, at her heels. Cam broke away from Booth, Parker and Brennan.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Nice and strong too."

Angela and Hodgins prepared their coffee and leaned against the kitchen bench.

"So, everyone okay after last night?" Angela asked. The others all nodded and Booth began to go through the motions of preparing pancakes, knowing that there was no point waiting for Willow and that the smell would make the two youngest squints surface out of their beds. It was past nine o'clock after all.

Angela noticed the way that Brennan immediately moved to replace Booth at Parker's side and how the younger boy leaned against her. That, in combination with the shadows under everyone's eyes, told Angela that no one had slept well, their rest plagued by nightmares about demons and snakes and vampires. Angela had been no different and she knew Hodgins was in the same boat. It seemed that no one had escaped reliving the terror of Willow's graduation in their sleep.

Hodgins put his arm around her shoulder comfortingly as Booth started to cook the pancakes, the smell of the cooking pancakes wafting out of the kitchen. Angela and Hodgins smiled when, mere minutes later, Sweets and a sleepy Zach stumbled into the kitchen, their hair still mussed by their sleep. Cam held out a mug of coffee for Sweets and a glass of juice for Zach, which both of the younger men accepted with a nod of thanks. Sweets, sensing the pointed looks he was receiving from everyone else, refrained from asking how everyone was. Angela smiled at Sweets' perceptiveness but knew that the psychologist would not be able to refrain for long. When they were back in D.C., Sweets would doubtlessly begin to try and get them to talk about their feelings about Willow's graduation.

By then, Angela was reasonably sure that she would be comfortable talking about it... but not now.

The team fell into a comfortable silence as they watched Booth cook the pancakes but the silence was broken by the sound of screaming coming from upstairs. Booth wordlessly passed the utensils he had been using to Cam and ran from the kitchen while everyone else exchanged uncomfortable looks.

It made sense for Willow to be the one who suffered from nightmares the worst, regardless of how much it sucked for her.

BtVS/BONES

Booth burst into Willow's bedroom to find her tossing and turning in her bed violently, tangled in her bedding. He was at her side in a moment, taking her arm gently and using his other hand to stroke her sweaty face, brushing the hair back from her forehead.

"Willow... Willow, wake up... it's just a dream."

Willow woke with a start, her eyes snapping open as she commenced struggling against Booth's grip on her.

"Willow, relax. It's me… it's Dad… it's just me. No one's going to hurt you," he told her in a calm voice.

"Dad?" Willow eventually croaked out, blinking wearily up at him, recognition filling her eyes.

Booth nodded. "Yeah, Willow, it's just me. You're okay."

Willow's eyes filled with tears and Booth wrapped her in an embrace, sitting on the edge of Willow's bed. Willow buried her face in his shirt.

"You were dead... and Parker and Bones and Zach and Cam and Angela and Hodgins and Sweets and Uncle Jared and Pops and Parker's mom... you were all dead and there was blood everywhere and no one was left. Everyone was dead. Buffy and Xander and Oz and Giles and Cordy and I saw Angel dust," Willow babbled. Booth rubbed Willow's back.

"It's okay... it was just a dream."

"I could have gotten you all killed," Willow whispered in a broken voice. "I should have done something to make you guys not come or warned you about what was going to happen, but I didn't and it almost got you all killed... it almost got Parker killed. He was almost killed by a vampire right in front of me and I almost couldn't stop it."

"But you did," Booth interjected. "You saved him and I'm so proud of you because of that. Parker is convinced that you and your friends are superheroes."

Willow gave a little huff of amusement at that. "No, we're not. Buffy is but the rest of us are just normal people."

"I agree with him. Not all superheroes have super powers. They can just be ordinary people in extraordinary situations. I think you definitely qualify." Booth replied. Willow blushed at the compliment as Booth held her close.

"I'm proud of you, Willow, and nothing is ever going to change that. You're always going to be a superhero in my eyes, and in Parker's as well."

"You think?" Willow asked.

"I know," Booth told her confidently. Willow smiled at the praise, resting her head against her father's chest as Booth continued to rock gently. She quickly succumbed to her weariness and Booth smiled as he heard her breathing even out.

"I don't blame you for this... for any of this, Willow," Booth told her as he carefully lowered her head to her pillow. "Don't worry about that. It's over now. Now just let me worry about you... you just let me look after you."

In her sleep, Willow smiled, her dreams no longer filled with death and destruction.

For the moment at least.


	47. Chapter 47

Willow groaned as she woke up. She didn't open her eyes, enjoying the comfort of lying still for a moment. Tentatively, she stretched her legs, wincing as they throbbed, protesting the movement. Frowning, Willow began to stretch each part of her battered body, wincing when her body ached due to how it had stiffened up while she had slept.

"Slayer healing would so be good right now," she muttered into her pillow before blearily opening her eyes. According to the clock on her bedside table, it was twelve thirty and Willow groaned again, wishing that she could go back to sleep but knowing that she wouldn't be able to. Sheila Rosenberg had drummed into her how important it was to be polite when you had guests and Willow had let her duties as a host lapse drastically, although given the situation she thought that it could be forgiven.

Still, it took longer than Willow would care to admit for her to lever herself into a sitting position. She'd been fighting alongside Buffy for long enough to know that she was heavily bruised but Giles had told her that hot showers did wonders for the ache that mere mortals felt after being engaged in the sort of fighting Willow, Xander and Giles tended to get involved in.

Oz, however, had never had an issue with being sore after a hard night of slaying. They'd put it down to his werewolf constitution. Willow couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the musician at that moment.

Slowly and carefully, Willow eased herself out of bed, grabbing a clean set of clothes and walking to the bathroom attached to her bedroom. She let out a groan of relief as the hot water eased the tension in her muscles and made her whole body relax, easing the aches and pains that had plagued her upon awaking.

Willow let out a wince as she looked over her body. She had known she would be battered and bruised but it was worse than she had anticipated. She had lots of bruises, ranging in color from dark blue and purple to mottled yellow. Willow knew from personal experience that the bruises would continue to get worse for the next day before they began to heal, especially the deeper bruises.

Turning off the shower, Willow dried herself with a large fluffy towel and got dressed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of loose-fitting pants, knowing that clothing that would not rub against her battered body was important. She threw a light jacket on over the top, just to make sure the worst of the bruises on her arm were covered. She wasn't sure what, if anything, her father had told Parker and she didn't want to upset her little brother by walking around the house with her wounds and bruises on full display.

Finally ready to face the day, even though the day was already half over, Willow edged out of her room, creeping towards the stairs. However, the sound of voices coming from the living room made her stop.

Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Zach and Dr. Sweets were all sitting in the living room with cups of coffee in hand.

"I mean, it's another example of the government brushing things under the carpet… and it's been going on for years... centuries even," Hodgins was ranting. Willow fought to contain her smile. She had wondered how long it would take Hodgins to label the whole thing as a conspiracy theory and use it to badmouth the idea of government.

"I don't know. This whole thing is kind of... covert. Who says the government even knows about it?" Angela commented. Hodgins scoffed.

"Yeah... like they could not notice it. I mean, there are demons walking out on the streets with us, trying to end the world or change the world forever, or whatever... and you think the government wouldn't notice."

"The British government obviously does... or at least did. Why else would they have set up the watcher's council?"Commented Zach. Willow smiled and shook her head, continuing down the stairs. Cam was the first to notice her.

"Oh, God, sorry, did we wake you?"

"No... I woke up on my own. Interesting conversation you're having." Willow grinned as she reached the landing and walked towards the rest of the group.

"Willow, you might know. Does the government know about the supernatural?"

Willow thoughtfully paused before shrugging. "I guess so...Giles once told me about an understanding between the US government and the Watcher's Council... basically a get out of jail free card for things slaying-related. It'll probably be part of the reason that nothing's going to happen to us for what happened last night. You know, since it was kind of technically an act of terror. It helps that Sunnydale P.D. is very blind to what's happening in this town, though. Did you know that Sunnydale has the highest level of people dying of 'barbecue fork injuries to the neck' in the entire world?"

Cam looked abashed at the lack of professionalism of her colleagues of the Sunnydale morgue.

"Ouch," Sweets cringed and Angela looked a little paler.

"Have you seen many of these... these barbecue fork victims?" Zach asked.

Willow nodded. "I've found a few victims and there was a couple of times when we broke into a morgue to check cause of death... just in case we would have to deal with a newly turned vampire or not and once to make sure that it had been a vampire attack and not... something else." Willow shuddered at the memory of the time that Oz had gotten out and it had been feared that he had killed someone.

"And... and you checked that?" Cam sounded impressed.

Willow shrugged. "The bite marks look completely different. Vampires are usually kind of clean about it. One or two bites and it's done... other demons can be a lot messier because they want to get to certain bits... or they just want to rip the victim to shreds, not to mention how vampires and werewolves have completely different bite mark patterns... but I should stop talking about it before I make you throw up... except I guess you guys are used to gruesome things... Where's my dad and Parker and Dr. Brennan?"

"They went to get some food. Brennan's making her famous lasagna for dinner and they wanted to go while you were still sleeping so that Booth wouldn't miss out on spending time with you," Cam explained and Willow nodded acceptingly. It was broad daylight the day after an apocalypse being averted... the time when the Hellmouth was safest. They would be perfectly safe.

"Right... how did everyone sleep?" Willow asked. Cam, Hodgins and Angela sent her a pointed looks, which had Willow smiling sheepishly.

"Okay... stupid question. I guess what I should have said was... does anyone have any questions for me to answer before the others get home?"

"Make yourself comfortable, kid," Hodgins smiled, patting the seat beside him. "Just make yourself right at home."

BtVS/BONES

Willow could honestly say that she had never been gladder to see her father than she was when she spotted him getting out of the car he, Dr. Brennan and Parker had taken to the supermarket. It meant that Hodgins would be forced to stop drilling her for information about the supernatural. She knew nothing about any government-sanctioned projects that were focused on the supernatural and she was tired of Hodgins asking her if she did.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Booth smiled when he spotted her sitting on the couch. Parker skipped over to her and jumped into her lap, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Willow managed to hide the pain that the innocent gesture caused but she took a couple of deep breaths before she tried to speak.

"A little sore, nothing out of the ordinary," she said with a shrug. Parker looked up at her with wide brown eyes, his head resting on her shoulder.

"Did I hurt you, Willow?" he asked. Willow shook her head.

"No," she told him, "it's alright."

"Okay then." Parker tightened his grip on her again.

"Er, Willow...can we have a talk? Outside?" Booth asked, catching Willow's gaze. Willow nodded, knowing that her dad would want to talk about what had happened.

"Alright, hop off, Parker."

"Here, Parker. Why don't you help me put the groceries away?" Brennan distracted the young boy, leading him towards the kitchen while Booth and Willow walked to the back of the house and slipped outside into Willow's backyard. Willow sat down on the top step of the back porch, watching as a soft breeze blew some leaves across the green lawn.

"How much have you told him?" she asked Booth as the FBI agent sat down beside her.

"Not much. He said that he saw monsters and they tried to kill everyone. I think he's a bit shaken by everything."

Willow nodded in understanding. "I don't blame him... I was scared when I first found... a lot of the time, I still am. I haven't said anything to him about it. What do you want me to say to him... or do you want to try and explain it to him?"

"You'll be better able to answer any questions he has, I guess," Booth conceded, "but I want to be there when you tell him... to help him if he needs it."

"Of course," Willow nodded, knowing that it was for the best. She didn't really want to tell Parker about the supernatural without their father being there.

"Honestly... how are you?" Booth asked her in a soft voice. Willow turned her face to look at Booth and was surprised at the intensity in his eyes. It reminded Willow of Angel... but at the same time, it was different.

"Like I said... sore. The hot shower when I got up kind of helped ease the pain though... and I've got a heap of bruises but nothing too major."

Booth shook his head and put his arm around Willow's slender shoulders, being careful to avoid aggravating the injuries that lay beneath Willow's clothes.

"Look... I know that you haven't had the best upbringing and the Rosenbergs haven't really been around much but I'm here now, and... and I don't like seeing you hurt. When you're in pain, I'm in pain. I care about you... we all do and when you shrug this off, as if your health isn't anything to worry about, it scares me... it scares all of us."

Willow bit her lip, having not even realized how her choice of words was affecting Booth.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in a soft voice.

"Don't apologize. I just want you to be honest with me. How badly are you hurt? Do you need to go to hospital?"

Willow shook her head. "No. Yes, I am in pain but it's like the ache you get... actually, you probably wouldn't, but mere mortals like us who aren't super fit, the day after you exercise a lot. It's like a bad case of that with the addition of bruises."

Booth nodded. "What about your head?"

"I had a look at it after I got out of the shower and put some antiseptic cream on the cut. It will heal... I might get a scar but it shouldn't be too bad. Giles made sure that we all knew how to treat the injuries we picked up and gave us heaps of first aid bits and pieces and good quality creams and lotions and stuff to prevent against infection," Willow reassured her father. Booth nodded acceptingly. Willow was almost eighteen and she had been doing this for awhile. He would have to take her word for it that she knew what she was doing in regards for her wound care. Cam had told him that the cut wasn't too bad... she was sure that it didn't even need stiches but Booth had wanted to double check.

"I don't get what Giles was thinking, putting you all in danger like he did... not just you, but the rest of your friends as well. I get that Buffy didn't have a choice and you and Xander refused to step down but..."

"Dad," Willow shook her head, "Xander and I made our choice. We wanted to help... we wanted to make sure that as few people as possible died like Jessie did. We lost our best friend to the supernatural and we were still in danger... everyone was. We were better off joining forces with Buffy and making sure that we had some training and that if we were going into a situation more dangerous than ordinary, we had Buffy or Angel there to watch our backs... if they could. Giles tried to stop us, he tried to protect us from this fight but if we didn't, then without a doubt Buffy would be dead and who knows what would have happened? As much as I hate to say this, the world might have ended for all we know but Xander and I didn't listen to Giles. We fought to be involved and Giles finally let us and here we are... apocalypse averted and everyone still alive, well, almost everyone."

Willow dropped her gaze, thinking of the blanket-draped gurneys being loaded into the back of ambulances. There had not been many but she had still seen a couple. Guilt welled up within her. She hadn't been good enough. If only she had fought harder, she might have been able to kill more vampires and prevented the deaths of one of her classmates.

Booth knew where Willow's mind had strayed to the moment her eyes became distant and filled with unshed tears. He'd been there many times throughout his career as an Army Ranger, and then as a FBI agent. He tightened his grip on Willow's shoulder and shifted closer.

"We couldn't save them all, though, despite everything," Willow said in a broken voice, thinking of Snyder in the moments before he was consumed by the Mayor. She leaned against Booth's chest and he began to, very gently, rub her back.

"It's okay. There's nothing you could have done," Booth said in a soft voice. "There's no point thinking about what ifs. You can't change the past... they're gone and you have to keep living, if not for yourself, for them."

Willow nodded into her Booth's chest before she let herself be lost to her emotions. Everything she had been feeling for the past week caught up to her in a single moment. Booth said nothing, simply holding Willow, rocking slightly and gently rubbing her back as she broke down, crying freely into his shirt.

Booth knew that Willow needed him more than anything in that precise moment and there was nothing that was going to stop him from being there for her.

He needed to be her dad.


	48. Chapter 48

Parker looked curiously from Willow to their dad and back again as Willow gently took his hand and led him to the back of the house, through the back door and out into the backyard, with Booth following close behind them. Parker didn't notice the anxious looks he and Willow were receiving from Dr. Brennan, Dr. Sweets, Dr. Saroyan and Angela. He was too busy trying to read Willow's expression.

Willow looked serious... as if something was worrying her. Parker was pretty sure it had something to do with what happened the previous evening during Willow's graduation ceremony. How could it not, really, given what had happened? Parker wasn't entirely sure what had happened but he knew enough to know that it had been a big deal. He'd almost been killed by some crazed guy, the graduating class had become an army, and the school had blown up.

Nothing like that ever happened at Parker's school and he hadn't heard of it happening at any of the other schools near his house.

Willow sat down on the steps at the back of her house and patted the step beside her. Parker sat down beside her and their father sat down on his other side. Willow looked up, watching the white, fluffy clouds drift by in the sky far above them. Parker looked up too. He could see a cloud that looked like a rabbit and another that looked like a chicken.

"I used to do this all the time," Willow said in a soft voice. "Xander and I would lay in the grass and look at the clouds. In the summer, we used to look up at the stars too. I used to teach him about astrology and all the constellations and all that."

"Why did you stop?" Parker asked. Willow shrugged, still looking up at the clouds.

"We were too busy with school and other things... and it got too dangerous."

"Because of the monsters?" Parker asked softly. Willow glanced down at him and their eyes met.

"Exactly, Parker... The monsters were part of the reason we stopped. What you need to understand, Parker, is that monsters are real. You've seen them and you've seen what they can do... what they will do if they get the chance. Most people will say that there is no such thing as monsters. They belong to either three groups. The first group, and this is most people, have no reason to believe in monsters. They haven't seen them and they have no evidence of monsters existing. The second group are the people that are in denial about what is going on and the third group are lying and they actually do believe in the supernatural and are trying to hide it. Your mom and my adoptive parents, for example, are in the first group."

"They don't know about the monsters, so they doesn't believe in them," Parker stated. Willow nodded encouragingly.

"Right, that's why we can't tell her. On the news it is saying there was gang attack the school and a gas explosion... Do you think you can tell your mom that?"

Parker nodded. "So then she won't get scared?"

"I know you mom and I have always encouraged you to tell the truth, Parker, and the truth is important, but your mom... she's better off not knowing about this. Knowing about this could get her into trouble."

"Like knowing about secret things you do at your work, like what Dr. Hodgins talks about?" Parker replied. Booth stiffened, unable to believe Hodgins had told Parker about his conspiracy theories about the FBI.

"Yeah, something like that," Booth answered.

"Can you do it, Parker? I know I shouldn't be asking this of you, but it is important," Willow continued. Parker nodded, a hint of resolve in his eye. Willow smiled, recognizing the beginning of Parker's Resolve Face, one that was modeled on her own Resolve Face from during her speech.

"Good. As you saw, the supernatural is real. All of the things in scary stories, or well, most of them, are real but they aren't impossible to fight. We fought many of the last night and every monster has a weakness – you just need to find it. You don't need to worry about this for now, though, Parker. There aren't many monsters in D.C. and the ones that do only come out at night. Most monsters can't get into your house without an invitation either, so maybe you and your mom could make it a rule that you don't actually invite people into the house after dark... even if you know them. It's okay if they come over but you can't say 'come in' or something like that."

Parker nodded in understanding, grateful that his dad had shifted over and was rubbing has back reassuringly.

"Do you remember what... what the monsters looked like?" Willow asked. Parker wordlessly nodded.

"They won't always look like that... Most of the time they look like normal people but they are burned by sunlight and they don't like holy water or crosses," she explained before exhaling and picking up a small, black box that had been sitting on her other side. Parker hadn't even noticed it.

"Parker, I know that at the moment you think I'm a superhero but sometimes, I'm not going to be there to help you if you get trapped by a monster. This will help you. It will give you the chance to escape, okay? Escape for long enough for Dad or Dr. Brennan or somebody to come and help you, okay?" She passed Parker the box, which he opened. Inside were two crosses, a stake and three vials of holy water.

"Thank you, Willow," Parker said, setting the box aside and hugging Willow tightly.

"You're welcome, Parker," Willow replied, hugging her brother back tightly in response. Over the top of Parker's head, Booth nodded approvingly. He hadn't wanted Parker to be told about the supernatural but he had known that after what he had seen at Willow's graduation, there had been no way around it. The little bit of information Willow had provided had been enough to keep the seven-year-old safe. Once he was older, Willow would be able to tell him more, if he wanted to know, but for now Parker knew enough. Rebecca would be better off not knowing but the cover story the media had produced would be adequate reason for her to beef up her home security a little.

It hadn't been a great situation but Booth was reasonably sure that the best outcome had been reached. It was, after all, highly unlikely that Rebecca would ever find out the truth.

"Why don't you head inside, Parker? I need to talk to Dad about something," Willow suggested gently. Parker nodded and picked p his box, carrying it back inside the house.

"He handled that well," Willow observed to Booth, who nodded.

"He's a good kid. I'll be keeping an eye on him too. Depending on how he's doing, I might get Sweets to talk to him. He likes Sweets."

Willow nodded, knowing that it was good that her dad had someone like Sweets that knew the truth of what happened in Sunnydale... not just for Parker, but for Booth himself and the rest of the team. Willow knew that it was possible that she herself might need to speak to Sweets about what had happened. Every time she thought about it, she felt as if she was being consumed by guilt and even though it was still early days yet, the nightmares would continue on for ages, if they ever stopped.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Willow dragged her attention back onto Booth. "Yeah, you guys saw me protecting Parker, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And you saw what I did with the arrow."

"The one on fire... Yeah, I saw that... Why do you ask?"

Willow sighed. She had hoped that Booth and the squints would fail to notice that the arrow that had taken down the vampire holding Parker had been on fire.

"Okay... this is going to sound weird, even after everything, but I think I should tell you about this."

Booth blanched. "There's not much that could surprise me at the moment," he reminded her.

Willow shrugged. "I wouldn't say that... Actually, don't say that, you'll jinx it... and while I'm thinking of it never ever say the W word in Sunnydale."

"W word?"

"Wish," Willow whispered. "Bad things happen when that word gets said."

"Like what?"

"There a so-called vengeance demons around and they grant people's wishes... except they're demons, so things don't always go like you would think. Cordelia once w-worded that Buffy never came to Sunnydale and she went into an alternate reality where that was the case. She's the only one who remembers it but the me from that dimension came here a few months later because of the same vengeance demon. Let's just say that I know what I'm like as a vampire now."

"You... you're a vampire in this alternative dimension?" Booth asked.

Willow nodded. "Everyone thought the real me had been turned. I was all skanky and leather-wearing... even though I'd been turned when I was only fifteen."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I shot her... the vampire me with a tranquilizer gun and then I had to dress up as her to infiltrate her hideout, leather and everything. It was very scary, especially when I broke my cover and they realized that I wasn't a vampire."

"You're right... I am surprised by that," Booth admitted. Willow smiled and shook her head.

"And that wasn't even what I was going to tell you... that story just sort of came out. Still, nothing wrong with you knowing about the story of me and my vampire doppelganger. The good thing is that because she was turned so young... she never knew about you... so you and Parker and the rest of the Jeffersonian team would be fine."

"Why wouldn't we be?"

Willow bit her lip. "Vampires have a tendency of killing their human family members when they're turned. For example, when he was first turned and was all evil and psychotic, Angel killed both his parents and his younger sister. He didn't know that he got one of the local girls pregnant. Otherwise, he might have killed them as well... which would mean none of us... you, me, Parker, Pops and Jared, would have been born. Last year Angel lost his soul for a few months... just before I was in the coma and I know Giles, Buffy and Xander were worried about Angelus going after me or you guys because there was a theory that we were related. Thankfully he was too focused on Buffy... although did kill my fish. Still, the soul's back now and I'm pretty sure it's permanent."

"How do you give a person back their soul?" Booth asked. He's always thought your soul was a permanent part of you until you died... but then he remembered that Angel was actually dead.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Ms. Calendar was a member of the gypsy clan that gave him back his soul in the first place. She was sent to watch him and to make sure he still felt bad about all the things he had done. He did, but he was in love with Buffy and when they were... together... you know... she made him feel as though he could forget about being a demon and he was happy. It was enough to break the curse. Ms. Calender found a copy of the original spell and began trying to translate it but the night she finished the translation, Angelus found her and knew what she was doing. He broke her neck. I'd been helping Ms. Calendar and Giles with rituals and a couple of small spells, so I tried the ritual. Drusilla and her gang attacked the library and a bookshelf was pushed on top of me. When I woke up, I knew that I had to try again, so I tried to do the ritual again... and it worked. I resouled Angel and brought him back... the Angel we were friends with. Ever since then, I've been aware of his soul... it formed a connection between us, if you like. It's kind of made him a little more protective of me than he used to be and I'll know the moment he loses his soul, if it happens again."

"You did all that?" Booth asked. Willow nodded slowly.

"I am a witch... I have magical powers. I'm not very good, my control isn't very good, but I'm slowly getting better. Giles has friends that live near MIT that I'm going to be working with to better control it. Hang on a moment." Willow got up off the step and walked over the garden, finding a small stick and bringing it back. She sat down beside Booth and held her hand flat with the stick across it. She looked at the stick, willing it to rise, and it did, hovering about eight inches above her hand. Booth gulped. He had seen some very weird things over the years and especially in the last day or so, but this was extraordinary. He put his hand between Willow's hand and the stick but it made no difference. The stick stayed up, hovering in mid air. Willow flexed her hand and it dropped back down and she tossed it into the garden.

"I know you're Catholic and everything... and I respect that. Everyone's entitled to their beliefs but please tell me that you're not going to burn me at the stake."

Booth choked. "Of course not... Why on earth would I burn you at the stake? It's not like you're hurting anyone by levitating sticks or anything."

"True, but I have killed a vampire using a levitating pencil... only once, though."

"But he was a bad guy, yes?" Booth asked.

Willow nodded. "Yes, considering he was holding me captive."

"Then I'm sure God forgives you. If you're using the powers to defeat vampires and demons and all that, I'm sure he approves."

"Good to know... So, you won't try to burn me at the stake?"

"No."

"Good, because I've already had a parental figure try and burn me at the stake and I do not want to go through that again. Those burns on my legs took ages to heal."

Booth's jaw dropped and Willow mentally kicked herself in the backside for the casual comment.

"You see that... that was something I wasn't planning on telling you about."


	49. Chapter 49

Giles opened his door cautiously, taking in the sight of the obviously annoyed FBI agent that was standing on the other side. Giles would have been lying if he said that he hadn't glanced up at the sky, making sure the sun was still up, because Willow's father was looking particularly murderous and not unlike the monster that had taken over his many times great-grandfather's body.

"Er... Special Agent Booth? What can I do for you?"

"Willow was just talking to me about all the... things she and the other kids have been doing," Booth told him, brushing past Giles and striding into the librarian's home. Giles sighed and closed the door. He'd anticipated that Booth would go to him when he found out some of the details about Willow's slaying career. He only hoped that Booth would refrain from using violence and that neither of them would end up getting arrested.

"What in particular has you so concerned, Special Agent Booth? Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Coffee would be great if you have it, thanks. She just told me about how, in some alternative reality, she's a vampire and how she can do magic and how she set a arrow on fire last night when she was saving Parker's life... and how she almost got burned at the stake! Who would do that to their own kid? I mean, I know that Willow wasn't theirs biologically but they've still been looking after her for almost eighteen years. I'm Catholic and I try to go to church every week and I know and understand that as a group we Catholics tend not to believe in any of the magic and supernatural stuff, I never did until now and I would NEVER do anything like that, and the same goes for a lot of the other people I go to church with. I'd never hurt either of my kids like that, even if I didn't know the truth. The Rosenbergs tried to kill Willow and it was their responsibility to look out for her. I should put a warrant out for their arrests, charged with attempted murder and abuse and assault," Booth ranted, pacing in Giles' living room while the Watcher prepared a cup of strong coffee for Willow's father and a cup of tea for himself. He opened up his liquor cabinet and retrieved a bottle of scotch, offering it to Booth, who nodded.

"Please, yes."

Giles smiled and put a generous shot into both cups before handing the coffee to Booth, who drank a quick mouthful of the hot liquid.

"Thank you," he said, sitting down at Giles' table. Giles shifted a few book aside before sitting down across from the agent.

"Firstly, reporting the crime would have no effect. Sheila Rosenberg, along with all of the other parents involved in that particular situation, have no memory of the event. I don't know how in depth Willow went with her explanation of the event but the parents were all possessed by a demon who wanted to bring about Buffy's death. Unfortunately, Willow was collateral damage. The fire was blamed on an electrical fault and as there was little damage done to City Hall, nothing was reported. Sunnydale's police department turned a blind eye, as is usual for this town."

"Willow didn't actually tell me much," Booth admitted. "I'm pretty sure she didn't plan on telling me about it at all. She let it slip and then she closed up about everything."

Giles nodded, taking a sip of his tea. "It has been a very long few days for all of them... Willow perhaps more than the others, she isn't as used to the limelight as Buffy is. Some slips of the tongue have to be expected."

Booth nodded. "I have a question, about the magic thing?'

"I imagined you would. Let me begin by saying that the magical arts are very difficult to understand and many aspects of magic are yet to be understood by even the most studious mages."

Booth nodded. "How did Willow come to have magic? I mean, I've never heard of any magic in my family and I don't know about Carmen... Willow's mom, but I never saw her do anything or say anything that hinted anything about that... or is it somehow connected to that Angel guy that is a vampire?"

Giles nodded. "A good question... you want to know if there is a chance that Parker, or any other children you might go on to father, might have magical talent like Willow? In the majority of cases, magic runs in families, usually from mother to daughter, but male magic users do exist. In some cases however, like Willow's, for example, there is no blood connection. Willow herself asked me the same question when she first begun to explore her skills. I performed a harmless spell which confirmed that Willow was one of the few people who are born with dormant magical talent but without the familial connections."

"You do magic too?" Booth asked.

"Yes... some... but I have nowhere near as much talent, as much potential as Willow. It is why I supported her move away from Sunnydale. There is a coven of witches quite close to where Willow will be living and she can be trained and supported by them. I have friends among them who will make sure Willow does not make the mistakes I did when I was her age and I was exploring magic."

"So Willow will still be doing all of this," Booth waved his hands at the books scattered on the table beside him, "when she's at college,"

"As long as she wants to, yes. She will be working with a colleague of mine who also has a certain degree of magical talent and assisting with research. She may also take an active part in patrolling the area around MIT but of course this will all be done when she has time outside of her studies."

"So... is there a potential career for Willow in all this?" Booth asked curiously. Giles hesitated before nodding.

"Willow is already on the path towards becoming a Watcher herself... and from what I have seen of her resourcefulness, determination and courage, I have little doubt that Willow will be one of the finest Watchers the Watcher's Council has ever known."

Booth smiled at that. While in his head he had imagined Willow ending up working either in some sort of science career, mentored by Brennan and the other squints or working in the area of computer programming somewhere in the Silicon Valley, the idea of Willow surrounded by old, musty books and saving humanity from the supernatural, both through passing on knowledge to those doing the fighting and through fighting herself, did seem to fit in with what Booth now knew about Willow. She really was, Booth reasoned, a mix of him and Carmen, with her mother's genius level intelligence and with Booth's own desire to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

"I suppose being a Watcher wouldn't be too bad for her," Booth said. "It's obviously something she enjoys." He wasn't going to get involved in Willow's choice of career... she would only resent it if he did, but Booth figured that by being a Watcher Willow would get to do what she obviously enjoyed and valued... which was the most important thing.

"Exactly," Giles agreed.

The two men looked at each other before they clinked their cups together and drained what was left of their drinks, united by their respective feelings about Willow's future.

BtVS/BONES

Several days passed by and since the apocalypse had been adverted, Willow continued to pack up everything that she was taking away with her to MIT.

"Are you sure about this?" Buffy asked as Willow put a jumper in her suitcase. Willow rolled her eyes and walked across her room to get some more clothes out of her drawers.

"Yes, I'm sure, Buffy."

"You can't be serious about taking that sweater, Willow?" Cordelia asked from where she sat beside Willow's suitcase, surveying the sweater Willow had just put into her suitcase. Willow rolled her eyes.

"I promise not to wear it when you're around, I'll never say that I know you while I'm wearing it," Willow said. "Relax, I'm going to be living on the other side of the country."

"I can't believe you kept that sweater... Wasn't that the one you wore when Spike kidnapped you and Xander? You can even still see the bloodstain on the sleeve from where Xander had that big cut on his head. I would have burnt it," Cordelia said, eyeing the sweater disdainfully.

"That's why I'm keeping it," Willow said after a pause. "It's to remind me that we almost didn't make it through everything."

Buffy and Cordelia exchanged a look at that but decided not to say anything else. Both of them had noticed that Willow was sensitive about her own mortality and that of those around her. They both found it oddly endearing.

"So, are you looking forward to starting at MIT?' Cordelia asked.

Buffy groaned wearily, "Don't start talking about college... we've only just graduated from high school. At least let me enjoy this summer."

Willow smiled. "It will be good, I think. I'm looking forward to it... learning more about technology and everything... and helping with research and slaying. It'll be great. Are you looking forward to moving to L.A.?"

Cordelia nodded. "Anything to get out of Sunnydale and get away of this... weirdness. No offense, Buffy, but this town is creepy."

"No offense taken, Cordy," Buffy laughed, settling herself comfortably on the floor, leaning against Willow's bedside table.

Willow went back to her packing and Cordelia looked around the room.

"If someone told me three years ago that I would be friends with Willow Rosenberg...that I would feel bad about her leaving town, I would have been certain that they were on some sort of drug."

"Don't worry, Cordelia, the feeling is mutual... I'll miss you too." Willow laughed.

Cordelia smiled. "You'll keep in touch though?"

"Yeah, you have to tell me if you get any spots in movies or something, so I can go and see you up on the big screen."

"There is no ifs about it... I will get movie roles, it's just a matter of how many days after I move into town I start getting them," Cordelia told them. In reply, Willow and Buffy exchanged a look at Cordelia's level of confidence.

"Good luck with that, Cordelia." Buffy smiled.

"I'd say break a leg but we are on the Hellmouth. I don't think it understands figures of speech and might take it seriously... which would be bad," Willow offered. Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Er, thanks Willow. When I am famous and anybody gives you a hard time, make sure you tell them that you know me."

Willow nodded. "I'll remember that, Cordy."

"I can't believe that you're leaving Sunnydale," Buffy told Willow. "I mean... I'm happy for you... it's a great opportunity and there was always the chance that when you finished high school, you would want to move closer to Washington D.C. to be closer to your dad and everything but now you're actually leaving and it's... weird."

"Tell me about it." Willow nodded in agreement as she put some more clothes in her suitcase. "For awhile there, we didn't even know if we would make it this far... and now I'm packing to go to college on the other side of the country and my dad knows everything about what we do here in Sunnydale. Everything is changing so quickly."

"I know how THAT feels," Cordy agreed. Buffy and Willow understood what Cordelia had meant. They both knew about the fall of Cordelia's parents and how Cordy wasn't going to L.A. out of choice... she would have to. There would be no college education for her.

The three girls were quiet for a short moment before Buffy broke the silence, taking Willow's hand comfortingly in her own.

"Come on, we better get you packed up... you have to come out with the rest of us to the Bronze tonight."

Willow nodded and continued to pack up what felt like her life in Sunnydale. It felt like a stage of her life was ending and the next stage was beginning. Maybe her speech at graduation hadn't been so far off the mark. This was the start of a new beginning... for her... for Cordy... for Buffy... for everyone.

"You have to stay in touch... I want to hear all the gossip from MIT," Cordelia announced. "That goes for you too, Buffy."

"As long as you tell us what movies and TV shows you're going to be in so we can watch them," Willow replied. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"I don't know... I'm looking forward to hearing about all the hot guys Willow's going to meet at MIT."

"Seriously, Buffy... they're all going to be geeks and nerds," Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Hmm, good point. I'll take my chances with the guys at UC Sunnydale."

Willow looked from Buffy to Cordelia, a smile spreading over her face. She had no idea when chatting with Buffy and Cordelia about boys became normal, but somewhere along the line Willow... who for most of her life had been friends only with Xander and Jesse... had gotten used to having to friends that were most definitely female. It was with a pang that Willow realized that she was going to miss times like these... a lot. Intellectually, Willow knew that she would develop new friendships after she moved but she also knew that her new friendships wouldn't be the same as the ones she had developed in Sunnydale. There was something about working together to save the world that made friendships stronger than others.

BtVS/BONES

Willow leaned against Xander as he held her tightly against him.

"I'm going to miss you," he told her.

Willow nodded. "Not as much as I'll miss you," she promised, glancing up at her best friend's face. She was surprised to see the tears that filled his brown eyes and that rolled down his cheeks. Reaching up, Willow used her thumb to wipe Xander's tears away.

"Don't worry, I'll come and visit... I promise."

"We'll look after him for you, Willow, won't we Giles?" Buffy said, approaching them and swinging her arm over Giles' shoulder. Giles nodded, polishing his glasses.

"Of course we will."

"Thanks," Willow smiled, pulling away from Xander before being engulfed in a Slayer-strength hug.

"Um… Buffy... air?" Willow choked and Buffy loosened her grip a little.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. Willow shrugged it off.

"It's okay. I just want to thank you... for everything."

Buffy smiled. "It's okay, Willow... I'm the one that should be thanking you. Sunnydale's not going to be the same without you."

Willow smiled. "I'm sure you'll be so busy with college and... other stuff, that you won't even notice I'm gone."

"No way." Buffy shook her head. "I could never be so busy that I won't think of you and miss you. You better stay in touch, you hear?"

"Yes, mom," Willow teased, rolling her eyes, although she could feel her throat tightening with emotion and tears building up in the corners of her eyes. Overhead, there was an announcement, telling the assembled group that Willow's flight was now boarding. Around them, people were packing up their things and lining up, preparing to board. Willow looked around at her friends. Buffy, Xander and Giles had offered to accompany her to the airport and see her off. Oz had other plans... it was a full moon and there was no way Giles and the others would be back before nightfall and Cordelia had insisted on farewelling Willow privately. The cheerleader had her own packing to do as well... she would be leaving Sunnydale for L.A. the next day. Booth and the team from the Jeffersonian had left three days before and Willow was heading to Washington D.C. to spend some more time with them before she headed off to MIT.

Fighting to stay in control of her emotions, Willow turned to Giles and took the hand the Watcher offered to her, shaking it formally before giving up and throwing herself at him, hugging him tightly. Buffy and Xander watched on as Giles sniffed, trying to hide his own tears.

"You truly are the best of us all," Giles croaked out and Buffy knew from the subtle shaking of Willow's shoulders that Willow was crying.

"Look after them, Giles... and look after yourself too... I don't want to find out that something's happened to you when I'm not there. You have to promise stay in touch, please, Giles... I promise to help out with the research and stuff as much as I can," Willow babbled, her voice muffled by Giles' tweed jacket. Giles patted Willow's back.

"Work hard, Willow. You have so much potential. This is your time to reach that potential... but at the same time be careful. Magic is a dangerous thing... as you well know."

Willow nodded. "I know. I'll be careful and I will follow instructions."

"Good, I am so proud of you, Willow." Giles smiled, a tear rolling down his cheek. Willow blushed, tears rolling down her cheeks as well.

"Willow, the line's moving, it's time for you to go," Buffy reminded gently. Willow took a steadying breath, pulling away from Giles and wiping her tears away.

"Alright," she said, picking on her carry-on bags. "I guess I'll see you... whenever I see you."

"Keep in touch... I want nice long, juicy, phone calls and emails," Buffy told her as Willow began to walk away. Willow blushed and nodded as she walked up to the counter and scanned her ticket. She turned and waved at the rest of the original Scooby Gang before she walked down the corridor that would take her to her plane... and then on to her new life.

And as the plane lifted off from the tarmac, Willow knew that although her life in Sunnydale might be over for now, the life she was about to go into was going to be just as interesting.


	50. Chapter 50

Willow glanced sideways at Parker before returning her focus to the road in front of her. Both she and her younger brother had identical grins drawn across their faces. Parker was almost bouncing in his seat in excitement and it was only because she was driving that Willow was keeping a lid on her excitement. If something happened and she crashed the car, Willow knew she would never forgive herself.

Willow's thoughts drifted to the reason why she and Parker were driving through D.C. Willow's flight from Boston had landed an hour ago and she had picked Parker up from his home and now they were heading towards their father's new home. The home he shared with Dr. Brennan.

And, as of now, their little sister.

"Do you think that Dad and Dr. Bones are going to get married now?" Parker asked. Willow glanced at Parker. It was hard to believe that her little brother was ten years old now. He'd always seemed so young but he had grown so much since they had first met... Willow was certain that within the next five years Parker was going to be taller than her.

The irony of the situation had not been lost on Willow and the Jeffersonian team. It had been Zach who had first commented on the fact there was a ten-year age gap between Willow and Parker and now a ten-year age gap between Parker and the newest member of the Booth family. Willow put it down to an amusing coincidence.

"I don't know, Parker," Willow said, remembering to answer her brother's question. "Maybe not right away... I don't think Dr. Brennan likes the whole idea of getting married but maybe, one day, they'll get married."

Parker nodded, satisfied with Willow's answer. They fell into a comfortable silence as Willow drove, both of them thinking about their new sister. Willow let out a sigh of relief when she parked her car outside her father's new home. She hadn't been there before, so she had been going of the scrap of paper she'd written the address on and Dr. Hodgins directions. She cut the power to the engine and undid her seatbelt. Parker, however, sat motionless.

"Do you think she'll like me?' he said in a small voice.

Willow froze. "Huh?" she asked.

"The baby... do you think she'll like me?"

"Parker," Willow smiled, reaching out and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "the day I met you I was asking myself the exact same question. I had no idea how to be a sister and I was scared that you would hate me for somehow taking dad away from you. And then I met you and everything was perfect. You are the sweetest, kindest, friendliest little boy I know. You're clever and you can kick my butt at soccer any day you want. And you... you showed me that you didn't care that I might have been making you share Dad or whatever, you took one look at me, and you liked me... and that remains to be one of the best moments of my life."

"Really?" Parker asked. Willow just nodded and Parker impulsively leaned across the car and hugged her.

"You're going to be the best big brother ever, Parker, and I know that the baby is going to love you just as much as I do."

Parker smiled before leaning back, running his fingers through his hair.

"Come on," she said, giving his arm a gentle prod, "before the surprise gets blown."

Willow and Parker got out of the car quietly, taking care to close the car doors quietly. Booth didn't know that they were coming to the baby's Welcome Home party. They'd both been invited, of course, but it had been Angela's idea to surprise Booth and Brennan. A few quick emails later, Willow had told Booth that she was busy with college papers and was pulling all-nighters and Rebecca had told Booth that Parker was away on soccer camp (which was actually the following week).

Willow and Parker crept up to the front door and Parker looked questioningly up at Willow, who nodded encouragingly before he knocked on the door.

BtVS/BONES

Booth looked up in surprise when he heard the knocking at the front door. He looked over at Brennan, who was holding their daughter, who in turn was being fussed over by Angela and Cam. Booth himself was surrounded by Sweets, Hodgins and Zach. Sweets and Zach were talking about their favorite memories of their dad's from their own childhood and Jack was chipping in with his own favorite moments with his own son.

"Were we expecting anyone else?" Sweets asked. Hodgins and Angela looked at one another.

"Not that I'm aware of," Brennan said. Booth crossed the room, retrieving his gun from its locked storage container before he approached the door.

"Er... Booth, I don't think they would have knocked if they were out to cause trouble," Angela said in a soft voice.

"That's just what they want you to think," Booth replied, not wanting to take any chances with Bones and their daughter in the house. He knew it was overprotective but who could blame him, given the field of work he was in? Angela looked at Hodgins, biting her lip anxiously.

Booth looked through the peephole in the door, frowning when he could not see anyone, before he pulled open the door, his gun held low with the safety on but at the same time his hand tensed and ready to shoot. There was, however, no one there and Booth stepped out onto the front porch, frowning. The he heard it... a giggle... a very familiar-sounding giggle.

"What?" he said, his voice thick with confusion. From where she crouched beside the steps leading up to the porch hidden by a large bush, Willow grinned and signaled Parker. Then tightening her grip on her weapons of choice, she leaped up at the exact same time as Parker.

"Surprise," they yelled, throwing the pink streamers at Booth. Booth just stood there, a wide grin spreading across his face at the sight of Parker and Willow, standing in his front garden, beaming up at him. Booth tucked his gun into his pants as Parker climbed back up onto the porch, Willow close behind him, before the ten-year-old hugged him.

"Hi, Dad... did we surprise you?"

"Yeah, buddy... I thought you had camp?"

'That's next week. Angela came up with the idea and Willow talked Mom into going along with it."

"She did, did she?" Booth asked, letting go of Parker so he could hug Willow.

"Yeah, it was totally her idea."

"Hey, Hodgins was involved too!" Angela called from inside.

"No... no, I wasn't," Hodgins answered. "It was all Angela and Willow."

"So... you got room for two more at the party?" Willow asked and Booth put his arm around Willow's shoulder with the other arm going around Parker's before he led them both into the house, still draped with pink streamers. Sweets and Hodgins were already laughing and Cam was fighting the urge to laugh. Willow's gaze caught Zach's and she smiled at her friend... they had emailed almost every week ever since she had started at MIT but then she caught sight of Brennan and the tiny pink wrapped bundle in her arms and everyone else the room, aside from her dad and Parker, seemed to fade out. Parker let out a small sigh.

"Is that her?' he asked in a soft, voice. Booth nodded, tightening his grip on the shoulders of his two eldest children. Brennan smiled, carrying the baby towards her older siblings. Willow caught Brennan's eye and shot a sideways glance at Parker and Brennan nodded in understanding. Booth knelt down, ready to help his son hold his little sister for the first time. Brennan knelt down slowly and carefully passed the sleeping baby into her big brother's arms. Willow felt her heart melt as she too knelt, looking down at her baby sister.

"Wow," Parker whispered in a soft voice. Willow put her arm around him.

"She's so gorgeous," she whispered, "and small and perfect and beautiful... not to mention the cutest thing I have ever seen."

In Parker's arms, the baby stirred, opening her eyes to look up at her two older siblings. Willow knew that the baby was far too young to be able to see anything clearly yet but it still felt like she and Parker were being studied. Obviously they passed the inspection because the baby simply nestled further into Parker's arms and fell back to sleep. Willow shifted so that she could whisper into her brother's ear.

"I told you that she'd love you, Parker. You're going to be the best big brother ever... even better than Dad."

"Really?' Parker asked her and Willow nodded. Parker puffed his chest up proudly before looking down at the baby. "You hear that... I'm gonna look after you... like Willow looks after me. She'll look after you too... she's good at it. When you're bigger you'll get to hear all about it... but it's too scary for you to hear about now."

"Parker... do you want to let Willow have a hold?" Booth asked gently and Parker nodded. Booth carefully took the baby out of her brother's arms before sliding her into Willow's. Willow gazed down at the little baby... her little sister... she had a little sister.

"Parker's right, you know... I'm never going to let anything happen to you... and if someone hurts you, then I'm going to be there to make sure they stop... right behind your mommy and daddy though... 'cause they're pretty good at looking after everyone," she told the baby in a soft voice. "And when you're bigger Parker and I... we're going to teach you all the things we Booth kids need to know about."

"What's her name going to be?" Parker asked from beside Willow, his gaze still fixed on the baby in his older sister's arms.

"Well," Brennan said, "we decided that we're going to name her Christine... after my mom."

Willow smiled. Christine... it suited the little baby in her arms.

"And for her middle name... we decided that Christine's middle name is going to be Angela."

Willow looked up at the artist, who had tears running down her face... so did Sweets now that Willow noticed it.

"What... after me? Aww, Bren, sweetie." Brennan got up and Angela hugged her tightly. "I'm so honored... really, thank you."

Willow smiled as she watched the two best friend's embrace before she dropped her gaze to the baby in her arms.

"Oh, you better watch out, Booth... Willow's getting broody," Hodgins said teasingly and Willow felt her cheeks go the same color as her hair.

"Hey... I am not old enough to be a grandfather yet," Booth defended.

"Actually, in many cultural settings, Willow would already be old enough to have several children," Bones remarked before she noticed the very pointed glare Booth was sending towards her.

"Don't go getting any ideas... please?" Booth asked Willow, who gave him a sheepish grin.

"Um, don't worry, I don't have any plans at the moment," she told him reassuringly.

"God... good to hear," Booth said, although he sent a very pointed look at Zach that sent the youngest squint hiding behind Hodgins. Willow rolled her eyes at her father's actions before returning her attention to Christine.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Christine... Daddy is very overprotective... and he'll never stop being overprotective... so I'm afraid we're just going to have to deal with it."

At Willow's words everyone, except Booth, who was looking disgruntled, started to laugh before the FBI agent caved and began to laugh too. Willow smiled and kissed the top of Christine's head, relishing the warm feeling of belonging to a family that seeped into every bone of her body. It felt good and Willow only hoped it lasted.

BTVS/BONES

**The following takes place shortly after the events of Chosen, Season 7 Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is late season eight of Bones.**

Willow took a deep steadying breath as she approached the door to the lab. She hadn't initially planned on visiting the lab but the reaction of her dad and the team at the Jeffersonian to what had happened in Sunnydale, when the Hellmouth had swallowed the town leaving behind a giant crater as the Hellmouth of Sunnydale had been closed forever dictated that she should. Already demonic activity in Cleveland, and in a couple of other places across the world, had increased and Willow knew that she was going to be very busy helping Giles and the others organize the army of Slayers they now had... thanks to that rather nifty spell Willow had figured out.

Still, Willow thought as her security escort scanned his key card to let them into the lab, it was great to see the team up on the lab... Angela, Hodgins, Brennan, Zach... her dad. Sweets, Willow knew, wasn't far away... since she'd called him ten minutes before from the Jeffersonian carpark to see what mood her dad had been in since Sunnydale had disappeared into a giant sinkhole.

Sweets had replied with "Volatile at best... Please tell me that you're in town."

The psychologist had sounded rather desperate.

"Someone to see you guys," the security guard announced, getting the team's attention. Willow had never seen her father move as quickly as he did, down the stairs and engulfing her into his arms.

"You're alright... you're safe," he said, clutching onto her. Willow leaned into the embrace. Enjoying the moment. There was still something about being hugged by her biological father that made her feel safe... Willow didn't know how to explain it.

"I'm okay," Willow replied. She knew that she was still obvious injured... there was a cut to her forehead that was only half-healed that she had received from a falling roof tile when they'd been fleeing the school.

"You sure?" Booth asked. Willow simply nodded in reply.

"I think this calls for a meeting in Angela's office," Cam suggested and they all nodded, following her there. Angela shut and locked the doors, ensuring that their conversation could not be heard by anyone else. Cam logged onto Angela's computer and disabled the security camera in the room.

"So... what happened? Last time we saw you, you were running back towards the Hellmouth to get away from trouble... you had those two girls with you," Hodgins began. Willow nodded.

"Someone was killing Potentials and the Watcher's Council Headquarters in London was bombed."

"Potentials?" Booth asked.

"Girls who could become the next Slayer. They could be any age, although most of them are between ten and twenty. The one who was after the Potentials came after the Cambridge group. Our house was attacked. The Watcher in charge... Wendy... she was killed. I was able to fend off the attackers and I fled with Emma and Layla, the two Potentials we had staying with us. As you remember, I stopped here before we went to Sunnydale, where all the surviving Potentials were meeting. It was a case of safety in numbers. We did some investigating and it turned out that it was the First Evil we were up against. We managed to shut the Hellmouth... permanently and the Potentials were activated... making them actual Slayers with the strength and the speed and the healing powers to match. It was our only option... we would have been crushed if we hadn't done it. We gave the girls the best chance they could. As it was... as it was we still had losses, despite the victory."

Willow's eyes became distant and Brennan was reminded of how Booth looked when he was remembering his time at war or if he was thinking about losses of friends and colleagues.

"So what happens now?" Zach asked.

Willow shrugged. "We rebuild, I guess. We're going to set up schools for the girls to go to... so they still get an education and yet they learn about their powers and how to use them." Willow looked at Zach, their eyes meeting. Willow felt her mouth go dry. She hadn't told them about how, the last time she'd been in D.C, it had been her way of saying goodbye... in case she didn't make it out.

"Are... are you a Potential?"

"No, we all got tested and I wasn't one. I... I was really scared about Christine, though... My worst nightmare was that she was going to get dragged into this."

Brennan's face fell as worry took hold of her features. Willow saw the tension in her father building, so she quickly moved on with her story. "I got a mouth swab of her DNA the last time I was here and I got it tested... it was clean... she's not a potential either."

"And... it's not something she might develop when she's older?" Brennan asked, her voice anxious, seeking reassurance.

Willow shook her head. "No... It's there in DNA from conception... Christine will never be a Potential and she will never be a Slayer."

"Oh, thank God," Booth whispered. He held nothing against the Slayers... but he didn't want either of his daughters to be one... it sounded far too dangerous... what Willow did was bad enough.

"Yeah... I cried when I found out, i was so relieved... Xander thought I'd lost it when he walked into the kitchen and found me a sobbing heap in the floor."

Hodgins snorted at the mental picture, but Zach kept his gaze on Willow, on the way her eyes shifted from one member of the team to another. Willow had kept him up to date what was happening on the Hellmouth... he'd even spoken to her few of her friends... the tips of Zach's ears went red as he remembered the time he had spoken to Faith.

Everything that had happened in the last few months... heck, ever since Willow had first met Buffy... everything he had learned about Willow had made him admire her... care about her, even more. He knew that if Booth knew how he felt, Zach would be killed. Even after Christine's birth, Booth was still as overprotective as ever of Willow but Zach couldn't bring himself to care. Willow made him feel good about himself. She saw through his social inadequacies and focused on the man beneath... a man few managed to see, Hodgins, Angela, Sweets, Cam and Dr. Brennan being among them. As much as he admired his colleagues, however, Zach didn't feel about them the same way he felt about Willow. He wanted to reach out and touch her pale skin... he wanted to run his fingers through her red hair... he wanted to gaze into her green eyes for an eternity. He wanted to brush his lips against hers so he could taste what they felt like.

Zach wanted to be the one to hold her after a fight like the one she had just survived and to be the one to remind her that the normal world existed too and that it was okay to relax and enjoy life... take a few deep breaths and have a personal moment before going back to saving the world.

For years Zach had kept his distance, knowing that Willow was too young to really consider entering into a serious relationship. Zach was almost eight years older than Willow, after all, and the overbearing presence of Special Agent Booth had been enough to dissuade Zach from acting on his feelings.

"I hate to say this but we've got a case to solve," Cam announced and the rest of the team nodded. Angela and Cam got the camera back online and unlocked the door and they headed their own ways. Willow leaned against the doorway of the office, watching Brennan and Cam up on the platform.

"Are you okay?" Zach asked quietly from beside her. Willow jumped, having not heard him approach.

"Sorry, you startled me. Yeah, given a few days I'll be fine...it just takes me a few days to wind down after something like this."

"If you need any help, you know where to find me," Zach said and turned to go back to work, stopping when he felt Willow grab his wrist.

"Zach... I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me... listening to all my phone calls and replying to all my emails and everything. I know you're busy with your job and everything and I just really... really appreciate it." Willow smiled shyly.

"It's okay... you do the same for me. I found our interactions both encouraging and provoking and I very much appreciated the guidance it has offered me over the years."

Willow smiled and stepped closer to Zach, getting lost in his deep eyes. She hadn't realized how close they were until their noses touched. All it would take for one kiss was to move forward.

Impulsively, Willow took the initiative, leaning in and gently kissing Zach's lips. Zach was too stunned to move for a few moments until his brain caught up with the rest of him and he cautiously began to kiss her back.

"Er... excuse me, you two... don't you have something else to be doing?" Booth voice cut in and the two pulled apart like teenagers that had been caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.

"Er… right," Zach mumbled, running back to the safety of the platform. Willow blushed but she met her father's gaze with a shrug before she followed him from the lab.

Somehow Willow was going to have to convince Buffy that D.C. needed a Slayer school.

BtVS/BONES

**The following takes place when Willow is 26 years old.**

Willow yawned and rolled over, smiling when she saw Zach sleeping soundly beside her. It was hard to believe that, ten years ago today, she had met her father for the first time. It felt like a lifetime ago and yet at the same time it felt like it had been only yesterday.

She wasn't the same shy, mousy teenage girl that she had been back then. She was one of the most powerful Wiccans on the planet... She was a fully qualified Watcher... She was the official Watcher's Council liaison with the American government... She had the President of the United State's phone number on her speed dial (thankfully Hodgins didn't know about it)... she had a real, biological family... a father that loved her... younger siblings that thought that she was the coolest big sister in the world, a undead great-great-grandfather who despite everything that had happened over the years insisted on keeping a picture of Willow and her siblings in his office to remind him of his human family.

And she had Zach... the sweetest and kindest man she had ever had the pleasure to meet. Sure, it had taken her dad awhile to get used to the idea of the youngest squint and his eldest daughter being together but eventually he had come around to the idea.

Beside her, Zach stirred in his sleep, obviously having been disturbed by her movement, before his eyes opened blearily. Willow smiled at him.

"Hey," she whispered. Zach smiled before leaning over and kissing her on the nose.

"Good morning," he greeted. Willow snuggled into Zach's arms, relishing the way his arms felt around her.

Yes, things had changed a lot in over the past ten years, but Willow wouldn't have it any other way. She had a destiny, she had a family, and she had someone who would love her until the day he last drew breath.

And it had all started with the day Willow had discovered her birth certificate in the attic of the Rosenbergs' house in Sunnydale.


End file.
